Club 29 Down: Then There Were Four
by dolphingirl375
Summary: Companion piece to "The Strong Will Survive". Story starts where "See Ya" ends. It follows the adventures of the 'Club 29 Downers' who stayed behind. Same time frame as TSWS. Written pre-'Hotel Tango' so no spoilers. Any similarities are coincidental.
1. Chapter 1

**Book Two**

**Club 29 Down: Then There Were Four**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters (or it would last several more seasons) but the plot is my own. I used some of the background information from the F29D books and expanded on it.**

**Author's Note****: This story starts where "See Ya" ends. It follows the adventures of the 'Club 29 Downers' who stayed behind. This is my idea of how the series should have continued (for the most part) if it was moved to cable and only followed one group. **

**This is a _companion_ piece to 'The Strong Will Survive'. It was written at the same time and follows the same time period as TSWS (pre-'Hotel Tango' so no spoilers. Any similarities are coincidental). **

**Characters aren't OOC, I prefer to think of it as exposing parts of their personalities they've tried to keep on the down low _or_ have finally developed based on their island experiences, EPOTPTTTKOTDL_O_HFDBOTIE, for** **short.**

**Just _my_ little version of one_ possibility_.**

**POETIC LICENSE used profusely, it is FICTION after all. **

**Remember to SUSPEND DISBELIEF to fully enjoy.**

**- -**

"_**See ya soon, but…if not, see ya later…" **_

- -

**Chapter One**

The four stood there watching Abby, Eric, Melissa and Jackson walk away from them, along the shore to the west.

Taylor had silent tears slowly falling down her cheeks. Her shoulders were shaking slightly as she tried to keep her emotions in check. She had grabbed onto Lex's little hand when it looked like he was going to cry.

Lex stood there watching Jackson and Melissa's retreating backs with a mixture of sadness, disbelief and hope.

Daley walked up behind Lex and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into her as if to prevent him from leaving, too. She looked incredibly hurt but also resigned. She stared after them, dry-eyed.

Nathan felt Daley's presence at his side. He shifted his eyes to briefly look at her and when he saw her expression, put his arm around her. His eyes returned to watching the back of his best friend and the others slowly walking away into the unknown. He didn't know what to think. He understood why Abby and Eric and even Jackson felt the need to go but, _Melissa_? He never would have thought she had it in her. She always played it so safe. _I guess this just shows how much Melissa has changed on the island. _Then he had another thought. _Maybe she hasn't changed that much. Maybe this is how she's always been. _He felt tears in his eyes as the scene before him suddenly became blurry. He blinked them away. _Now is not the time, _he told himself.

They stood there, unmoving and silent for almost an hour until they could no longer see the others. Then they stood there a while longer not believing they were actually gone and not coming back any time soon.

Daley was the first to break eye contact with the far western end of the beach. She looked down at Lex and released the death grip she had on him. Nathan looked at Daley when he felt her move. She looked him in the eye for a few seconds then turned away and walked back toward the fire pit. Nathan opened his mouth to say something but he was at a loss. He closed his mouth and slowly walked away toward the jungle.

Lex heaved a big sigh, swiped at his nose then stalked off toward his garden.

Taylor was still looking west, searching for any sign of movement, hoping that they'd change their minds, turn around and come back. After a few minutes she realized it was hopeless. She turned and walked the opposite way up the beach to the tide pools where they fished.

Nathan was wandering aimlessly in the jungle. He started collecting firewood. He felt numb. He didn't know what to think. Part of him was really glad that a group of them were going out looking for the others or rescue or whatever but it was battling with the part of him that thought they should all just stay together in relative safety, waiting for help to arrive. He couldn't help it. That was his boy scout training-_when you're lost, stay put!_ Another part of his brain was in shock that Melissa had gone with them. _She didn't say one word to me about it. She didn't ask my opinion or anything. __I thought we were best friends! Why didn't she come and talk to me? At least warn me? Something? Some friend! _With that he started throwing the wood he'd collected as fast and hard and far as he could. Then he started picking up anything within reach and throwing it with a ferocity he didn't know he possessed. He threw one last log and listened as it hit a tree and made a satisfying _thud_. Nathan stood there panting. Tears were threatening. _No man, I can't cry. I have to be strong for the others. I'm the only man left now. _Nathan took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He ran his hand through his bushy hair, wiped his face then started walking back toward camp, picking up more firewood as he went.

Daley had walked back to the fire pit. She surveyed the area. Even though she'd been here alone before, it seemed emptier somehow. That's how Daley felt inside. Empty. Hollow. Vacant. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _Can't think like that, Daley. Everyone is depending on you to lead, _she told herself. She picked up two empty water containers and walked off toward the well. _Yeah, everyone is depending on me to lead. Look where I've led us. Half of the group packed up and left. Who am I kidding? I'm obviously no leader. Maybe it's a good thing I crashed here. If I was home I'd be class president getting ready to lead the whole class to disaster. _Tears welled up in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. She exhaled slowly and proceeded to the well and started filling the jugs. _I don't have time to break down, _she told herself. _There are still four of us here who have to survive. I can't let the others down. _She finished filling the jugs and started back to camp.

Lex was watering his garden. His plants were growing very fast. He smiled. Then the smile slowly disappeared. _They're gone. Half our number. _Lex frowned. _Jackson. Our rock. The hardest working person here. The cool, level-headed one who didn't get caught up in all the drama_. _The older kid who actually listened to me from the very beginning. _Lex felt his eyes burning. He dragged the back of his hand across his face. _I must have gotten some dirt in them, _he thought. He moved over to his chicken in its pen. He knelt down and started stroking the injured bird. _I can understand Eric going, he's been planning it for a long time. And Abby, I'm glad she left. She's not the same person who organized the dance. She was getting scary with that knife of hers. _He exhaled loudly, shaking his head as he remembered her talking about killing the chicken and eating it. _We were doing so well until she came back and started causing trouble. I think she did it on purpose. _That brought Lex to Melissa. He couldn't believe it. His stomach felt like it jumped into his throat when he realized the fourth pack was hers. _Melissa is so sweet and cautious. I can't believe she decided to go, too. She's the one who helps everyone. She's like our glue, keeping us all together. Why? Why would she go? _Lex suddenly realized how much time he spent with her. She always talked to him. He could always depend on Melissa to help him or look out for him if Daley got too wrapped up in leadership issues. Lex felt wetness on his cheeks. He'd been crying without realizing it. He stood up and splashed a little of his water on his face then used his shirttail to dry off. _I hope you can't tell I was crying. Daley doesn't need any more worries. _Lex picked up his water bottle and headed back toward the fire pit.

Taylor was sitting idly by the tide pools staring out at the ocean. _Guess I should've brought the fishing gear_. She sighed. _I can't believe they're gone. What are we gonna do without Jackson? We all know he's the _real _leader. Who will take care of us? _Taylor sniffed. _Abby. She was nothing but a pain. Causing trouble. Pissed off at us because we built a shelter, found lots of food and have warm showers…how rude and selfish! Good riddance! Eric. _Taylor was surprised how sad she was when she'd hugged him good-bye. She had felt an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach. _I can't believe he left me here, alone. Nathan and Daley are all into each other and Lex is just a kid. Who's here for me? Who will pay attention to me and do my chores for me? _Tears started falling again. _No one to goof off with. Make fun of the others with. What am I gonna do for entertainment? _And _Melissa_…_was it my fault she decided to go? I _was_ pretty mean to her…more than once. _Taylor sighed. _But she deserved some of it! She…she…_Taylor realized Melissa didn't deserve it. _God, am I such a horrible person? Shy little Melissa left her best friend and headed out into who knows what danger because of me... _Taylor suddenly gasped and stopped crying. Her eyes opened wide then quickly narrowed into angry slits. _She's only going to be with Jackson! She doesn't care about finding the others or rescue, she just wants to spend as much time as possible with Jackson so he'll forget about me! _Taylor was breathing heavy now from anger. She was beating the sand with her fists to emphasize her thoughts. _That sneaky little bitch! I can't believe her! Little Miss Innocent, my foot! She knew exactly what she was doing. Why that little…that little…that…little… _Taylor's anger petered out when she couldn't find the right word. She exhaled slowly and shook her head sadly. _Melissa isn't like that, _she thought. _She said it felt right to be going and I believe her. She'd be the last person here to go off on some dangerous trek just to spend time with a boy. That's something I'd do, if I didn't mind leaving the 'comforts' of camp. _Taylor half-smiled at this revelation. She stood up and kicked off her shoes, stripped off her shorts and tank top then waded into the warm water. She swam around for a few minutes remembering her last swim. _With Eric_. Her eyes were burning but it had nothing to do with the salty water. Taylor walked out of the surf and retrieved her clothes. She stuck her feet in her shoes and slowly walked back to camp.

Lex arrived at the fire pit and looked around. He was the only one there. He sighed and went over to the fire. It was almost dead, no one had been taking care of it. He carefully added some tinder and smaller sticks to get it going again. When the flames were high enough he added some bigger logs. _With only four of us now, we're gonna have to be more vigilant about keeping this going. _That reminded Lex that he had given the fire starter to Eric and he needed to make another one. _Where did I put the rest of the duct tape? Oh yeah, the tail of the plane in the tool box._ Lex smiled in anticipation of having something to tinker with. _I wonder if I can improve on the design…_ He filtered some water and put it over the fire to boil then went off to gather everything he needed to make his gadget.

Nathan walked into camp with an armload of wood. He noticed the fire was built up, someone had been tending it. He also noticed there was water set to boil. He looked in the pot, it wasn't boiling yet. Nathan looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone else here. He looked at the water containers and noticed two were missing. _Daley must be getting water, _he thought. _It sure wouldn't be Taylor. _He smirked. Nathan walked over to the cooler they kept the fruit in. He opened the top and _Uh-oh. We're awful low. Guess I better go get some. _He checked the water again, it still wasn't boiling so he grabbed a towel and went off in search of fruit.

Daley returned with the water. She saw someone had stoked the fire and water was already boiling. _Good. That will save me a little time. _She sat down and started filtering more water for the next boiling. When she was done she poured the boiled water into bottles and put more on to boil. She added more wood to the fire and noticed they were getting low on bigger logs. _I'll just get the saw from the tent and…_Daley looked up the path. The tent was gone. The others had taken it with them. It looked wrong. _This is all wrong. The tent should be here. Melissa and Jackson and Eric should be here. _Daley's eyes were filling with tears. _No. I can't. _She quickly wiped them away and went into the plane to get the saw. She came back out and followed the path to the latrine.

Taylor walked up to the fire pit and looked around. No one was there. She saw someone had set some water to boil and there were freshly filled bottles sitting near the cooler. _Well someone's around. _Taylor walked into the plane to put some dry clothes on. She emerged and hung her wet suit on the line they had rigged. _Oh crap! I forgot to charge the batteries! Daley will kill me if I don't do it! _Taylor got the battery charger out and hooked it up to the batteries. She angled it to make sure it was catching maximum rays then went over to the cooler they kept the fruit in and opened it. _Whoa! We don't have much fruit left. Maybe I'll try to catch some fish. _Taylor thought about it a moment. _Nah, oysters are easier. _She went back into the plane and emerged with a backpack and started for the rocks where Lex had discovered the oysters.

Lex walked back into camp with his fire starter. He hadn't tweaked the design yet but he was thinking about how he could improve it, happy to have something to occupy his mind. He set it in its place next to the fire pit. He removed the boiling water from the fire and set it to cool a little before he filled some water bottles. Lex wondered where everyone was. _I haven't seen anyone since…_gulp…_this morning when the others left. _Lex frowned. His stomach suddenly growled. He walked over to the cooler and took two bananas out. _Uh-oh, we're getting low on fruit. _He looked over at the shelter and could picture Melissa sitting there braiding rope. The tangle of old fishing net that had washed ashore was still sitting there, right where she'd left it. Lex frowned. He decided to check on the chicken again. _Maybe it laid another egg. At least with only four of us here now, we should each get one every week, maybe two. _Lex wandered off, eating his banana and trying to figure out how to improve on the fire starter. _Anything not to think about…_

Nathan came into camp with his towel full of mangoes and bananas. He went and put them in the cooler and helped himself to a mango. He noticed all the water bottles were filled and _Hey! Lex made a new fire starter. Cool! _Nathan sat down on a log, started eating and looked up at the sky. It had to be after one o'clock. _This is weird. I haven't seen anyone since this morning. I haven't eaten lunch alone since_..._well_..._never. I wonder where everyone is. _Then he realized he was wondering where Melissa was and he was expecting to see Eric come huffing and puffing up the path from the well lugging full water jugs. And Jackson walking up from the beach with a string full of fish. His shoulders sagged. _Oh yeah. It's only Daley, Lex and Taylor now. _Nathan shrugged, stood up and grabbed two empty water jugs. _I did tell Eric I would lug the water for him. _He set off for the well.

Daley approached camp dragging a tarp full of logs that she had cut, the saw sticking out of her waistband. She stacked the wood next to the fire pit and grabbed a water bottle, chugging it. She was soaked with sweat. Sawing logs was hard, dirty work but she was happy for it. She hadn't thought about the others for a few hours. _Whew! I stink! _Daley went to the tree where Lex had rigged the shower. The water container was full. _Excellent! _Daley returned to the plane and changed into her swimsuit, grabbed the soap and her towel and headed back to the shower. She pulled the rope and warm water trickled down over her head and shoulders. She lathered up her hair and then her body. She pulled the rope again and sighed deeply as the water trickled down and washed the soap away. _This feels so good! Lex, you're a genius! Ahhhh! _Daley opened one eye and looked up at the jug, it was almost empty_. Damn! _She finished up, grabbed her towel and dried her hair then wrapped it around her waist. She lowered the empty water jug, untied it and took it back to the fire pit. She exchanged the empty jug for a full one and lugged it back to the shower. She tied the rope around the handle and hoisted it into the tree, making sure the sun was shining on it so it'd warm up then walked back to the plane to get dressed. A few minutes later Daley walked out of the plane dragging her fingers through her curls and looked around. Still deserted. She sighed. _Good. I don't really feel like talking to anyone. _Daley hung her suit on the line next to Taylor's dry one, grabbed some fruit from the cooler and decided to take a walk on the beach.

Taylor walked to the oyster beds Lex had discovered. She sighed and dropped her pack. There was no hurry. She sat on the rocks staring at the waves. She reached over and pulled one of her magazines out of the pack and started reading. After a while she threw it down in exasperation. _Who am I kidding?! I've read this same stupid magazine twenty times! I don't care what's 'hot for summer'! It'll be way out of season by the time I get home anyway! Hell, the clothes I'm wearing are already out of style! _She sighed again and stood up. She started walking farther down the beach where there was seaweed scattered along the high tide mark. She collected some to go with the oysters so she could have sushi. _Sushi. Jackson. _Taylor flashed back to him rolling the raw oysters in seaweed that first time Lex found them. _"Pretend it's Friday night and you're livin' large". _She smiled. Then the tears started again. _Jackson. _The signs were all there that he'd leave. When they were alone he'd listen to her rants and talk to her, but with the group, especially when Daley was talking about more rules or voting or adding to camp, she'd noticed his face take on the same look as Eric's. He'd get all closed up and stare off into space. _Yeah, the signs were there all along, I just didn't want to see them._ _No one did. _Taylor wiped her eyes and glanced at the sky. It was later than she thought. That's why I'm so hungry, I missed lunch. No one had come looking for her to make sure she ate. She realized she'd depended on Eric's stomach to dictate when it was time to eat. Or Melissa. _She'd always come looking for me if I didn't show up for meals_. The tears threatened again. _Why was I so mean to her? _Taylor looked around quickly then wiped her nose on her shirt. She was glad no one had come looking for her, she still didn't feel like talking to anyone. Taylor returned to the rocks and gathered oysters, stuffing them into the backpack with the seaweed. When she was done she picked up her magazine and headed back to camp.

Lex arrived back at his garden. He went over to the chicken pen and sat down. He started petting the fowl to calm it then checked underneath. _No egg_. Lex sighed. He continued petting the bird. He didn't want to think about the others but he couldn't help himself. Camp felt so empty. By now, he and Jackson would've done at least one thing together. Or they would have discussed something. And Melissa. They would have collected firewood together and talked about stuff. Sometimes Melissa would just listen to Lex talk about a new idea he had. She always encouraged him, never laughed at or made fun of him. Sometimes they'd talk about things from home. Melissa was so nice and she always worked hard and didn't complain. _Unlike Taylor. Or Eric. _Lex sighed again. He even missed Eric who could've told him a bad joke or called him a geek. _It's just so…quiet. And empty. _Lex realized part of that was that no one had turned on the mp3 player today. _Guess no one felt like music. _Lex looked at his watch and jumped. It was after 5:00. _Where did the day go? _He realized he hadn't seen or talked to anyone all day. _That's okay. I don't have anything to say. No, that's not it, I don't _want_ to talk to anyone._

Nathan came staggering back into camp with two full jugs of water. He'd had to stop several times coming back from the well to rest. _As usual Nathan, you were over-ambitious. You should have only filled them halfway and then you were too stubborn to stop and dump out some of the water. Idiot! _he chastised himself. Nathan dropped the jugs next to the fire with a grunt and sat down. He looked around. Still no one. The fire was dying out again. _We'll have to watch it or this is gonna go out._ Nathan stirred up the fire and added more wood. _Guess I better filter this since no one else can lift these. _Nathan started filtering the water and put more on to boil. He looked up the path. There was a big blank spot where the tent should be. He looked at the shelter. Melissa's big tangle of fishing net was still sitting there. Nathan frowned. He kept looking up expecting to see her braiding rope or coming up the path carrying firewood. Or… The water was boiling. Nathan took it off the fire to cool. He was getting agitated thinking about Melissa. He filled the remaining empty water bottles and moved them to the safe water area then picked up the video camera and dug out his videotape. He walked off into the jungle to make an entry in his video diary.

Daley was meandering along the beach. She had subconsciously headed west and didn't realize it until she noticed the footprints. Sometimes there was one jumbled track, other times there were four distinct sets, two smaller, two larger. _Leaving_. Daley rounded a slight bend about a mile away. She could no longer see any traces of camp so she sat down and stared at the ocean. _Some leader, we're down to four and should be working harder than ever and here I am, taking Eric's place, slacking off. _Tears welled up in Daley's eyes. _How could they? Leave us? Leave me? _Her tears were flowing, unchecked. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. Deep down, Daley knew that most of the group only did what she asked or considered her ideas because of Jackson. _He's the true leader and we all know it. _Daley _hated_ admitting that. Her hands had absentmindedly started playing with the sand on either side of her, mounding it up then smashing it flat. _How can I keep control without Jackson here? And why the hell did Melissa leave? I thought she believed in my democracy! No one defended the voting system! Not even Lex or Nathan! _Daley was still so angry. At everyone, especially Lex, Nathan, Melissa and Jackson. _Lex is my brother! He should have said something to defend me! We're supposed to stick together! And I thought Nathan liked me! I thought he believed in the same things I did! Why didn't he stick up for me? And Jackson…I thought he understood that voting was best for the group, that it kept us together! _She snorted. _Well, he's…he's…Jackson! But, Melissa! I thought Melissa was my friend. Why didn't she say anything about my democracy? It was working! We all know it was! And why the hell did she leave me here alone with Taylor? She didn't even say good-bye. _Daley stopped and thought for a moment. _Okay, so that was _my_ fault. I'm the one who ran off and hid from everyone. _Daley buried her face in her knees and started sobbing. She thought about everything from the previous two days and just cried it all out. When she finally finished, she used water from her bottle to wash her face. She took a few deep breaths and stood up. The sun was hanging low in the western sky. She hadn't realized how long she'd been gone. She walked hurriedly back toward camp carefully avoiding the other sets of footprints. _Okay Daley, time to suck it up and deal. You have to be the real leader now, everyone is depending on you. No matter how much you suck at it. _

Taylor came back to the fire pit with her pack full of oysters and seaweed. She used clean water to rinse off the seaweed then started shucking the oysters. _This is where I'm really gonna miss Jackson. _No one was around and Taylor was afraid the oysters would go bad so she decided to make soup. _I have no idea how to do this, cooking was Melissa's thing. I guess just dump the oysters into some water and let it get hot. Can't hurt. Let's see…I'll have to make two batches so there's enough for all…of…us…_Taylor realized they weren't 'all of us' anymore. One batch would be plenty for the four of them. Taylor cleaned the oysters and added them to the water. She decided to tear up the seaweed and add it as well. _Sushi soup! _She frowned. _Except…it won't really be sushi any more because it will be cooked…so what would it be? _She shook her head quickly as if to clear the cobwebs, _Oh whatever! _she thought. She added more wood to the fire then gathered up the empty shells and carried them off to the pile Jackson had started.

Lex walked into camp. No one was around but something was cooking over the fire. He looked in the pot and sniffed. _Mmm…is that oyster and seaweed soup? Oh well, something different. _He helped himself to some and went back to his garden to eat it with his chicken. Right now, the chicken was the only living thing Lex wanted to see. He was trying to figure out exactly how he was feeling about everything. _I'm definitely sad. The two people I felt the closest to, other than Daley, have left me. Jackson was our real leader. And Melissa kept the peace and made everyone see reason. And they both were the only ones who really listened to me. What are we gonna do now without them? What am_ I _gonna do without them?_ Lex felt tears roll down his cheeks again. _I may be smart but I'm still just a kid…and I'm mad. And worried…and…scared. _Lex heaved a big sigh and finished his soup. He sat petting his chicken until he noticed it was almost dark. He let out a huge yawn. Being upset all day had exhausted him. Giving his chicken a final pat, he stood, stretched and headed back to camp to go to bed.

Nathan found a nice clear area in the jungle to make his video diary. He had walked for about fifteen minutes so he was sure he was far enough away and no one would hear him. _And Eric isn't here to eavesdrop_, he thought. He could speak freely about the split and everything else. He set up the camera and sat down. Nathan's forehead wrinkled in concentration as he was deciding how to start. _I should just turn it on and say whatever pops into my head. _Nathan pushed the record button and looked into the lens. He opened his mouth then closed it. He shifted position, sighed and opened his mouth again. Nothing. Nathan closed his mouth. He cleared his throat, ran his fingers through his hair and looked into the lens again. He opened his mouth. And closed it. Shaking his head, he reached up and turned off the camera. Nathan sat there for awhile just staring at it. _I got nothing. _He wanted to get his feelings off his chest and move on but he realized he wasn't entirely sure how he felt. One thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to talk to Melissa face-to-face. _No, I want to yell at Melissa! I can't believe she did this to me! _Nathan felt tears spill out of his eyes. He shrugged. _I'm far enough away, I might as well get this over with. _Nathan let the tears fall this time. He was so angry at Melissa. _I can't believe she left! _Nathan was getting more upset. He stood and furiously paced back and forth for several minutes. He suddenly felt all the energy drain out of him. Nathan sat down heavily and blew out a loud breath. He felt fresh tears on his cheeks. _I'm mad at Mel, but I'm more…hurt. _Nathan finally admitted to himself the real truth. Melissa, his best friend in the whole world…had hurt his feelings. _And I'm worried about her. Heading off into the unknown. Look what happened to Abby when she left, both times. _Nathan sighed. _But she's not alone. _Jackson's words from that morning came back to him. _"We're together. We'll be fine." She's not alone, she's with three other people. Jackson is there. He'll watch out for her. _Nathan sighed again. He swiped his hand across his eyes then poured some water from his canteen onto his bandanna and wiped his face. His stomach let out a loud growl. _Whoa! _he thought patting it. _I didn't realize how late it was. _Nathan popped his tape out of the camera and pocketed it as he headed back toward camp. He felt a little better but he was still worried and confused. _And mad. _Nathan arrived at the fire pit and looked around. No one. Again. But something smelled delicious. His stomach responded with another loud growl. He stowed the camera in its container and helped himself to soup and some fruit. He moved the soup away from the flames. Nathan picked up his food and walked down to the beach. He sat down on the wing and ate while watching the sunset.

Daley turned up at a still-deserted fire pit. _Something smells good. _She looked into the pot. _Someone made oyster soup, yum! _Daley helped herself to some and picked up a few bananas from the cooler. _This is full again, Nathan must've done it. _Daley carried her food up the path toward the well. She wanted to be alone for a bit longer.

Taylor returned to the fire pit. _My soup smells so good! _She looked in the pot. _Well someone has been eating this. _She poured herself a cup full and took it into the plane to eat. _Oh crap! The batteries! _Taylor set her soup down and hurried out to the charger. She unhooked it and carefully put everything away. _There! I did all my jobs today, successfully. And I made dinner! _She suddenly frowned. _Wait, I hope they don't expect me to do this all the time now, _she thought as she went back into the plane to eat. _No way am I going to start cooking and cleaning up! _She shivered involuntarily. _Eeww! _

Lex walked back to the fire pit. The sun had set and it was dark. He added more wood to the fire and noticed all the soup was gone. He added water to the pot and let it sit over the fire to heat a little. He then dumped it out and rinsed it again. _There, now it's clean. _Lex went over to the shelter, kicked his shoes off and crawled into his sleeping bag, turning his back to the fire. He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

Taylor came out of the plane and approached the fire. She was planning on cleaning the soup pot but it was already clean. She glanced over at the shelter and saw Lex was curled up in his sleeping bag. She smiled sadly. _Poor little Peewee. _She knew how close he and Jackson were. Taylor sighed and went back into the plane. _I think I'll go to bed, too. _She felt surprisingly drained for not having done much _physically_ all day. As she changed into her pajamas she glimpsed the guitar leaning against the wall and frowned. Taylor got in her sleeping bag, faced the wall and looked at the picture taped there. There was just enough light from the fire filtering in through the openings for her to see it clearly. It was the drawing Melissa had made for her at Chilloween. Taylor felt a twinge of…_something_. She closed her eyes as one small tear escaped.

Daley returned to camp. It was really dark now. She looked at the shelter and saw a small lump in Lex's sleeping bag. Daley felt a pang of guilt and frowned. _Forget about leader, what kind of big sister am I? I didn't talk to Lex all day and I'm sure he's upset about the split. _Daley mentally kicked herself and promised to talk to him in the morning. She noticed Nathan wasn't back yet so she got the lantern out and turned it on. Taking one last look around, noting only two sleeping bags on the platform instead of four, she sighed sadly and went to bed.

Nathan walked slowly toward the fire pit. It was pretty late now. The fire was dying but someone had turned on the lantern. Nathan noticed that Lex was in bed. He could hear his steady breathing, signaling sleep. He walked over to the plane and looked in. Two lumps in the sleeping bags, the girls were in bed. Satisfied that everyone was safe, Nathan banked the fire then frowned. He'd gone all day without talking to anyone. He hadn't said a word aloud since the four had left that morning. _Poor Lex. He must be so upset. He hung around Jackson and Melissa a lot. I should have found him and talked to him today. Hopefully he talked to Daley. _Nathan let out a final sigh and turned off the lantern. He crawled into his own sleeping bag and closed his eyes. Nathan had never been much for prayer but he sent a silent one heavenward. _Please God, keep the others safe._

Nathan had one last thought as he drifted off to sleep. _Things _have_ to change tomorrow. _

- -

**Thanks for reading. **

**PLEASE review.**

**- -**

**Sorry this has taken so long to post, fate can be cruel and real life is often inconvenient - it doesn't care what _we_ have planned. **

**Thanks for being patient. **

**A sequel bringing both TSWS and C29D: TTWF together has already been written as well (you _will_ need to have read TSWS for that).**


	2. Chapter 2

**Book Two**

**Club 29 Down: Then There Were Four**

**Disclaimer****: Don't own any of the characters (or it would last several more seasons) but the plot is my own. I used some of the background information from the F29D books and expanded on it.**

**Author's Note:**

**Characters aren't OOC, I prefer to think of it as exposing parts of their personalities they've tried to keep on the down low _or_ have finally developed based on their island experiences, EPOTPTTTKOTDL_O_HFDBOTIE, for** **short.**

**Written pre-Hotel Tango so no spoilers.**

**Just _my_ little version of one_ possibility_.**

**POETIC LICENSE used profusely, it is FICTION after all. **

**Remember to SUSPEND DISBELIEF to fully enjoy.**

**- -**

**Nathan walked slowly toward the fire pit. It was pretty late now. The fire was dying but someone had turned on the lantern. Nathan noticed that Lex was in bed. He could hear his steady breathing, signaling sleep. He walked over to the plane and looked in. Two lumps in the sleeping bags, the girls were in bed. Satisfied that everyone was safe, Nathan banked the fire then frowned. He'd gone all day without talking to anyone. He hadn't said a word aloud since the four had left that morning. _Poor Lex. He must be so upset. He hung around Jackson and Melissa a lot. I should have found him and talked to him today. Hopefully he talked to Daley. _Nathan let out a final sigh and turned off the lantern. He crawled into his own sleeping bag and closed his eyes. Nathan had never been much for prayer but he sent a silent one heavenward. _Please God, keep the others safe._**

**Nathan had one last thought as he drifted off to sleep. **

_**Things **_**have****_ to change tomorrow. _**

**- -**

**Chapter Two**

Nathan was the first to wake the next morning. Camp was just beginning to lighten as the sun peeked over the horizon in the east. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked around. All was quiet. He stood and stretched then went and stirred up the fire. When he had a nice blaze going he got out fruit for everyone then sat waiting for the others to wake up.

Daley heard some noise and sat up. It was morning. _Okay. Another day. There's chores to assign then…_ The events from the previous morning hit her. _I'd almost forgotten. They're gone. _She shook her head and got dressed. She picked up her notebook and walked out to the fire. It was blazing away and Nathan was sitting there poking at it with a stick. He looked at her expectantly. Daley nodded then looked quickly away. She went to the cooler and helped herself to a water bottle. She noticed that Nathan had set fruit out for everyone so she grabbed a banana and sat opposite him then buried her nose in her notebook and started writing furiously.

Daley moving around woke Taylor up. She didn't get up until Daley had left the plane. She pulled on some clothes then combed her hair and carefully arranged it in a ponytail. _No reason to look bad just because we're stuck here. I still have my standards. _Taylor walked out of the plane to see Nathan playing with the fire and Daley scribbling in her notebook. She smiled weakly at Nathan then grabbed some food and sat down looking around nervously.

Lex staggered over to the fire and sat down. He was still wiping sleep out of his eyes and yawning when Nathan stood up. He looked around at all of them. Even Daley stopped her writing.

He cleared his throat awkwardly then started. "Who here didn't talk to anyone yesterday?" Nathan raised his own hand. The others looked sheepishly at each other and slowly raised theirs. "Guys, this is ridiculous! We can't _not_ talk to each other! Look, we're _all_ upset. We're sad or whatever about the others leaving but we can't ignore each other, we'll go crazy! We'll never survive!" They were all watching Nathan closely now. He paced back and forth while he spoke but he made sure he looked each person in the eye. "Look, we _have_ to talk it out." They looked at each other doubtfully. "Fine, I'll start. I'm sad they went but I'm glad too. At least now we'll find out what's on the west side of the island and maybe they'll find something or someone to help us." A few heads nodded in reluctant agreement.

"But," he continued, "A big part of me thinks it was a huge mistake for them to go." They all looked at him with varying degrees of surprise on their faces. "Now, don't laugh, but it's my boy scout training. I've been in scouts since I was five and the first thing you learn is, if you're lost, STAY PUT. Period. It's drilled into you at every meeting. So yeah, I'm worried. And I'm mad." They looked at him, puzzled. "Yeah, I'm mad at Melissa. I mean, we've been best friends forever and I can't believe she just up and left me without a word. Or a warning. She didn't come talk to me. I guess…she really…hurt my feelings. I'm…I'm…" his voice faded out.

"I'm mad, too," Lex piped up. Everyone looked at him and Nathan sat down. Lex stared at the ground and sighed. "I'm mad because…well, because…I guess maybe because Jackson and Melissa were the only ones who listened to me when I had an idea." Daley looked at him with a hurt expression growing on her face. Lex looked up at her and said, "Sorry Day, but it's true. You're always so busy with leader issues and well, you just don't always have time. And because I'm little, no one really listens to me." They all looked at him guiltily. "It's okay. Because I always had them to go to. But now I don't and that makes me mad…and sad, too. I'm worried about them. And…I'm scared…" his voice faded out as he stared into the fire.

Daley looked at Lex for a minute. She moved next to him and put her arm around his shoulders then said, "It's okay, Lex. I understand." He looked up at her. "I had a lot of time to think yesterday and one thing I realized is that I have been neglecting you. We all tend to dismiss you because you're younger and that's not fair to you. And I'm the worst because I'm your sister. I'm supposed to be looking out for you, taking care of you and that includes being there for you when you need to talk." Daley wiped a tear from her eye.

Lex looked at her and smiled. "It's okay, Day, really."

She gave him a little half nod. "Okay, I'm sad they're gone, too. I miss Melissa already. I never realized what a calming and positive influence she had on all of us but I definitely notice the difference already." Everyone nodded in agreement. "And…I hate to admit it but I even miss Eric's dumb jokes and lame excuses." They all smirked and nodded. "And Jackson." Daley took a deep breath. "I know I'm the leader," she said using air quotes, "But I think we all know that Jackson was the one we all really looked to. Even me." They all stared at the ground avoiding eye contact. "That's okay. I know everyone just listened to me because of him. But now that he's not here to back me up…I hope you'll still listen to me." They all nodded.

Taylor looked up and said, "My turn. Okay, I'm sad. I miss Eric. And Jackson. And…I do miss Melissa. I…feel…_bad_…for being so mean to her." Taylor looked at the ground, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "I'm mad, too. Because _they_ left _I_ have to work harder to survive." Daley bit back a remark about Taylor's work ethic and controlled her eye rolling. "And I'm scared for them. And for us. Can we survive with just the four of us? Can they? I mean what about food and water? What if one of them gets hurt?" Taylor had tears in her eyes. Nathan moved next to her and put an arm around her, pulling her close. Daley was surprised by a weird little flutter in her stomach. They sat there a few minutes in silence until she collected herself. "Sorry," she said. She pulled back from Nathan and wiped her eyes.

"It's okay, Taylor," Nathan said. He looked around at everyone. "This is what I'm talking about. We need to communicate with each other. Daley said we're stronger as a group and she's right. No matter what size our group is. So now we're four. That just means we have to stick together more than ever. To survive. And I _know_ we will. Look, I'm just as worried as you about the others but let's remember, Melissa and Jackson are smart, resourceful and hard workers. Abby's all about survival and Eric is …well, Eric is…" They all looked at Nathan expectantly. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Eric. They'll be fine. Jackson won't let anything happen to them." Everyone slowly nodded. "We just have to trust in them and in ourselves. And I do. Jackson's right. We'll be fine and so will they. We have to believe that." They all sat there looking around at each other nodding and smiling.

"Okay, now that we have that out of the way," Daley said, opening her notebook, "We need to figure out how to do everything we did before with only the four of us." Taylor groaned. "It can be done. I mean, since there's only four of us we won't need as much food and water but we'll have to double up and then some on chores." They all nodded resolutely.

The wheels in Taylor's brain started whirring. _What jobs can I volunteer for that will require the least effort? Battery charging. Fishing is pretty easy and I can still tan while doing it. As long as I don't have to clean it. Um...I can braid twine, as long as I don't have to untangle it first. Hmmm…collecting oysters and seaweed is easy and it's not like I'll have to do all of these everyday, except the batteries, so that should be pretty easy…_

"I volunteer to fish," Taylor blurted out. They all looked at her with surprised expressions. "What? I can still charge the batteries _and_ fish. But, I won't clean it. I'll puke. Oh, and I can collect oysters and seaweed. And as long as I don't have to untangle it, I'll braid rope, too."

"Um…okay, great!" Daley said as she crossed off some things in her notebook.

"I can tend the fire, collect firewood, boil and filter the water," Lex said. Daley crossed off some more things in her notebook. "And take care of the garden and the chicken. And I can still think of things to help us." Daley nodded, making notes.

"I did tell Eric I would lug the water for him and I can saw bigger logs for the fire," Nathan chimed in. "I don't mind cleaning the fish, either. And cooking sometimes."

"That leaves the laundry, collecting fruit, cooking and other miscellaneous things for me," Daley added, crossing off more things in her notebook.

"I can also help with collecting fruit," Lex said.

"Yeah, we all can help with some of the chores like collecting firewood and fruit," Nathan said.

"Okay, I think we've got a plan people," Daley said. "Let's finish breakfast and get started."

They all nodded at each other and ate their breakfast.

Nathan was first to finish so he picked up two empty containers and headed off to the well. Daley stood and brushed off her shorts. "Well, I'm off to collect firewood. Lex, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to water my garden, check on the chicken then collect some vines, I have an idea for…"

"Okay, great," she cut him off, not wanting to listen to a long-winded explanation of his idea. _You promised you'd be a better sister and listen to him, _she reminded herself. _Later, I'll ask him all about it _after_ the chores are done._

Taylor had taken this opportunity to jump up and pull out the battery charger. She was all ready when Daley turned her attention to her. "I'm charging the batteries then I'm going fishing," she said. "Now is the best time. To catch the fish, I mean"

"Alright, then. I'll see you two later." Daley stopped in the plane long enough to get her straw hat and a water bottle then took off into the jungle to collect firewood. She walked quite a way before she even started looking for wood. Her mind was working overtime. She sat down on a rock to take a drink. She was glad that everyone seemed to be on board with this new work schedule, _Hell, even Taylor volunteered for several jobs. I guess they realize they have to rely on me as leader now. _Then she thought about the actual jobs Taylor volunteered for. She shook her head. _Of course, I should have known. Charging batteries, fishing, collecting oysters and seaweed, braiding twine…all the least physically demanding jobs. _Daley sighed. _At least she's willing to work. I need to be happy about that. _Then Daley started thinking about the other thing on her mind. _I'm going to have to talk to Nathan and Lex. They still haven't apologized for not backing me up in front of the others or supporting my democracy. _Daley felt herself getting very angry again. She took several deep breaths then drank some more water. _Okay, Daley, time to get to work. _She stood and started collecting dry wood for the fire.

Nathan came huffing back into camp with two half-full water jugs. He set them by the fire and looked around. The batteries were charging and he could see Taylor heading toward the tide pools with the fishing gear. Lex was sitting in the shelter with a pile of vines and some good sized pieces of bamboo. "Whatcha making, Lex?"

"I thought it'd be a good idea if we had a place to store wood. You know, to keep it dry when it rains. I also think we could make a structure for drying wood so everything we find, we can use."

"That's a great idea, Lex! Hey, after I filter and boil this water, can I help?"

Lex looked at him a little warily. This wasn't the same overeager Nathan from the first days on the island. The Nathan who nearly killed himself falling out of a tree or shooting off the flare gun, ruining their signal kite. "Sure, Nathan. That'd be great." Nathan built up the fire then started filtering the water. He and Lex worked in companionable silence for a while. When Nathan had finished one jug he moved to help Lex.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Well, I figured we could make some kind of a raised box that we could put back in the trees, to protect it from the wind. We could make tightly woven sides and a roof for it, probably several layers running different directions so any rain will run off. We can put our dry wood in there. And then I thought we could make a rack and plant it in the sand over there," he pointed to a spot on the top of a dune, under a bare tree, "because it's always sunny and the wind is pretty steady, that will help dry the wood. We can cover it with one of the tarps at night and during rainstorms."

"Wow Lex, that is really good thinking. What can I do to help?"

"Could you go cut more bamboo?"

"Sure. Just tell me what size and how much."

Lex pointed to several lengths of various sized poles he had set aside. "I figured if you could cut about ten of each of those sizes, we'll have enough for both structures."

Nathan saluted the smaller boy. "Yes sir! I'll get right on it." Nathan picked up the poles and grabbed the saw then set off toward one of the bamboo stands. He passed Daley on the way.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To cut bamboo for Lex's next project."

"Hey, Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Um, never mind. I'll talk to you later."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. No biggie."

"Okay, see you later."

Daley walked back to the fire pit and deposited her wood. "Hey Lex. So, what's your new project?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.

"I'm making a box to keep the firewood dry so we always have dry wood, even after it rains. Then I'm going to make a drying rack for wet or damp wood so we can use everything we collect."

"That's great, Lex! Gosh, you think of everything."

"It's my job," he said humbly.

"What can I do to help?"

"Well, I figure we'll need tightly woven sides and a roof to keep the rain out. Could you collect palm fronds and weave or braid or whatever will work to make them water tight?"

"Sure, I'll get right on it. Hey, have you seen Taylor? She can help with that too."

"Nope. I think she's still fishing."

"Okay. Um, how big is this box going to be?" Lex laid out the basic structure on the sand in front of them. Daley surveyed it figuring. "That will take a lot. Where's the machete?"

"I think it's still in the plane."

"All right. I'll see ya later, Lex."

"Later, Day."

Taylor sat and stared out at the vast blue ocean in front of her. She had just applied more suntan lotion and was reclining on her towel. She glanced to her left, the fishing pole was still upright. She hadn't put bait on the hook. _No sense catching anything this early, _she thought. _I'll just relax for a few hours then cast the net and catch all we'll need for dinner. No one needs to know that I'm not actually 'working'. _She smiled to herself. Then she frowned. _Should I feel guilty, lying here tanning when they're all working so hard? _She thought about it for a few seconds. _Nah…I'm Taylor Hagan, this _is_ working hard for me. My blisters from pulling the plane up to the fire pit are just starting to heal. I wouldn't want to pop them and risk infection. _Taylor smiled again. _Yeah, I'm just protecting myself from serious injury. No one else got blisters like me because they're all used to manual labor. And anyway, I volunteered for more jobs than anyone else. Can't expect more than that. _With a self-satisfied smile she lay back on her towel and closed her eyes.

Daley came back with an armload of palm fronds. Nathan jumped up from his pile of bamboo. "Here, let me help you with those," he said, taking them from her and carrying them toward the shelter. He smiled at her eagerly.

She looked away, "Uh, thanks." She hurried over and sat next to the fronds. She used the machete to start chopping off most of the stem, leaving just the leafy part.

"Need help with that?"

"No, I've got it. Thanks." She didn't make eye contact with Nathan. She had started getting angry at him again while collecting the giant fronds.

Nathan looked a little dejected. _She won't even look at me, _he thought. He went back to boiling and filtering more water. Just then, Taylor came sauntering back into camp looking quite relaxed. He smiled at her, "Any luck, Taylor?"

"Not yet. Those fish are getting smarter. They stole my bait several times. After lunch I'm going to try casting the net." She walked over to the battery charger and made a fuss over repositioning it just right. "There," she said to herself. She then walked over to the fruit cooler and helped herself to a mango. "Anyone else hungry?" she asked. A chorus of 'yeahs' met her ears. She picked up several pieces of fruit and carried them over to the others. _There, it _looks_ like I'm working but I'm not really putting myself out. That should score some points with Daley. _She took a seat by the fire and looked at the mess in front of the shelter. "So, what are you making?"

"A waterproof box to store wood so we always have dry firewood," Lex said.

"Oh."

"Maybe after you catch fish you can help me weave these fronds for the sides and roof," Daley said looking at her expectantly.

"Sure, I'd be happy to," Taylor said. She finished her mango and picked up a new water bottle. "Well, off to get those fish!"

Daley watched Taylor walk away, considering. "Well, I never would have thought she'd be so willing to do work. I guess that's proof that anyone can change."

Nathan, eager to get Daley to look at him agreed. "Yeah. The Taylor Hagan I know would never be caught dead fishing, let alone _volunteering _to do work."

Daley just nodded and focused on her weaving. She didn't see Nathan's face morph from eager to disappointed. Lex was too focused on tying bamboo together to notice the teen angst that filled the air.

Taylor meandered back to the tide pools. "God, I'm sooo booored," she whined aloud. She threw herself down on her towel. "I miss Eric so much. We would have already found something to do to keep from going crazy." _Too late, you're already talking to yourself, _she thought. She sighed and lay down on her stomach facing the ocean. _If the others were still here at least I could goof off with Eric or flirt with Jackson and drive Melissa crazy. _Taylor smiled evilly. _I _was_ mean to her and I feel bad but she just makes it so darn easy. Jackson is the hottest guy here. And since I'm the hottest girl, we _should _be together. It's just…natural law. You can't fight natural law. _

Taylor sighed again and started playing with the sand, tracing patterns in it. _I'm going to have to come up with something to keep myself amused. And I don't mean work. Hmm… _She looked at her watch then lay her head on her arms. _I may as well get a little sun on my back before I get the fish. No need to waste energy. And why would I want to hurry back to do more work?! God, what does Daley think I am, a…a…Trojan horse?! Wait, that doesn't sound right. _Taylor scrunched up her face up in concentration. _Oh_, w_hatever! _She shook her head then let her mind drift to thoughts of what she could do for fun with Lex, Daley and Nathan. Eventually she fell asleep.

Nathan, Lex and Daley worked hard all afternoon. Daley had woven several panels for the box that Lex and Nathan had finally finished. Nathan was off in the nearby trees digging holes for the poles that would hold the base to raise the box off the ground. Lex was now working on the frame for the drying rack. Taylor came sauntering in with a loaded net full of fish. "Dinner!" she called putting them down. "Where's Nathan? He said he'd clean them. I can't…"

"We know, you'll puke," Lex finished for her. "He's just over there in the trees."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm gonna take a shower. I worked up quite a sweat getting all these babies." _They don't need to know that I only had to cast the net twice to get this much. _Taylor smiled at them and went to the plane to get her shampoo and a clean towel.

Daley and Lex looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "Lex, why don't you run and get Nathan, we don't want these fish going bad."

"Okay." He ran off and soon returned with Nathan. Nathan looked at the big catch then looked around.

"Where's Taylor? I could use some help with this many."

"She's taking a shower and besides, she'll puke, remember?" Lex said.

"Oh, right."

"I'll help."

"Okay, come on." Nathan picked up the net full of fish and Lex grabbed the camp knife and a bottle of water and they set off to the rock a little way down the beach where they'd been cleaning the fish so they wouldn't make a mess at the fire pit.

Daley watched them go and sighed. There had been a tension in the air all afternoon. _I'm gonna have to talk to him tonight. We need to clear this up. _She picked up the machete and went for more palm fronds.

Taylor came back to camp all sweet-smelling and clean, carrying an empty water jug. She smiled when she saw there wasn't a full one so she wouldn't have to lug it back and hoist it into the tree herself. _I'll just get Nathan to do it for me later, _she smirked. She went into the plane and changed into some clean clothes. _Daley had better do laundry tomorrow. I'm almost out of clean things. _Taylor reached into her backpack and pulled out what she had left. "Hel-lo! I forgot all about you!" she said pulling out a tiny white string bikini. _Oh the fun I could have had with you and Jackson and Melissa. And Eric. _A nasty smile slowly lit up Taylor's face_. I'm sure I can find_ some _use for you now. _She laughed to herself and put it back into her pack. She inventoried her other clean clothes as she repacked. _How am I going to get Daley to do laundry? Hmmm…_ Taylor walked out just as Nathan and Lex returned with the cleaned fish. Nathan started putting them on their makeshift grill.

"Taylor, you did a great job catching all this fish but next time, you may want to put some back. Remember, there's only four of us now so we don't need as much."

Taylor's face fell into a pretty pout. "I forgot for a moment that there's only four of us now." She looked like she was about to cry.

"It's okay, really!" Nathan said quickly. "Um, we can just dry the extra and have it for breakfast tomorrow."

"I'm really sorry, Nathan," she said sadly, turning away to hide her tears.

She hadn't turned fast enough and Nathan felt like a jerk now. "It's okay, Taylor. Actually, I was just saying to Lex that I wished we had fish for breakfast. You know, protein. Right, Lex?"

"Huh?" Nathan looked at Lex and gestured to Taylor. "Oh uh, right. Nathan was just telling me that he wanted more protein at breakfast. In fact, it would really be good for all of us if…"

Nathan could tell Lex was winding up for one of his spiels so he cut him off. "Uh, Taylor, you obviously worked hard getting all of these, why don't you go down to the beach and relax. I'll come get you when dinner's ready."

"Are you sure?" she said, sniffing.

"Yeah. Go relax, you deserve it."

"Okay, thanks. And Nathan? There wasn't a full water jug to replace the one for the shower, could you be a dear and get one and put it in the tree for me? My blisters are irritated from using the net so much today."

"Sure, no problem," he said.

"Thanks." Taylor walked down to the wing with a big smile on her face. _Fake a few tears and they'll do whatever you want. Boys! _she scoffed. _Eric would be proud._

"Can you watch the fish while I get more water?" Nathan asked Lex.

"Yeah, no problem." Nathan picked up an empty jug and headed for the well before it got too late. He met Daley coming back with fronds. "Hey."

"Hey," she said.

"Daley?"

"Yeah, Nathan?"

"Um, have I done something wrong? I mean, it seems like you're mad at me."

Daley sighed. _Here it comes. _"Actually Nathan, I was wondering if we could go to the beach after dinner and talk," she said.

"Yeah, sure," he said.

"Okay, I'm gonna get these back now."

"Right. Uh, dinner will be ready soon." Daley nodded in acknowledgment and headed back to the fire pit. Nathan looked puzzled as he made his way to the well. _Wonder what's up? At least she's willing to talk about it. _He finished filling the jug and lugged it to the shower. By the time he'd finished lashing it up in the tree, dinner was ready. He walked down to the beach as promised and got Taylor.

"Hey, you did really good today," he said.

She turned to him and flashed a big smile and looked at him through her lashes, "Really?"

"Yeah. We needed the extra fish. Now that we're doing more work, we need all the protein we can get."

"I didn't get too much?" she pouted.

"No, it was perfect. We have plenty for breakfast. Come on. Dinner's getting cold." He held out his hand to help her up. Taylor took it and pulled herself to her feet then continued holding it as they walked back toward the fire pit. Nathan felt a little awkward when Taylor didn't drop his hand. He felt his cheeks grow warm.

Taylor smiled inwardly. She could see his discomfort. She also didn't miss Daley's expression when they arrived at the fire pit. _This is gonna be fun._

Daley was surprised to see Nathan and Taylor holding hands as they came from the beach. She quickly averted her eyes, pretending to be busy portioning out fish and fruit for everyone. _What the hell is that about? _she wondered. _And what the hell is that expression on Nathan's face? We are _so_ gonna talk about this later. _

Dinner started in an awkward silence. Taylor looked around and said, "Wow, Lex! Your little wood thingy is really coming along."

"This is the drying rack. The storage box is already done, we just need some more woven panels to waterproof it."

"O-oh. So, what's this one for?"

"We're going to put it where it gets plenty of sun and wind then we can put damp or wet wood in it and dry it. That way we can use everything we find."

"Aren't you a little genius for thinking of that!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess. Do you think you could weave some more fronds for me when you're done eating?"

"Sure, Lex. No problem."

After dinner Taylor put the battery charger away and replaced all the batteries before she settled down to weave palm fronds. _At least this is easy and I can sit while I do it, _she thought. _And I'll get more brownie points with Daley. _Lex was nearby still working on his drying rack.

Daley took a walk toward the well. She had the camera with her. She set it up and turned it on.

- -

**O Recording--Daley's Video Diary**

"_So, yesterday was weird. And sad and…I don't know. Abby, Eric, Jackson and Melissa left to explore the west side of the island." She sighed heavily. "I still can't believe they're gone. No one knew Melissa was going, well, no one being me, Taylor, Lex and Nathan. It was a shock. I'm worried for them. And us. The rest of us didn't talk to each other all day. This morning Nathan made us talk about how we're feeling and I realized I need to be a better sister to Lex. He said some things that hurt me but I've been thinking about it and he's right. I did kind of ignore him…" Daley pushed her red curls out of her face. _

"_So, I'm upset. I told Nathan we'd talk after dinner. I'm going to tell him how much he hurt me by not sticking up for me. Oh, and I'm gonna ask what's up with Taylor. Earlier I saw them holding hands. Maybe it's nothing but…I better get back. _

**:Stop--End Daley's Video Diary**

**- -**

Daley turned off the camera and removed her tape before heading back to camp. When she arrived Lex and Taylor were still working and Nathan was drying fish. Daley replaced the camera in its container and approached Nathan. "Busy?"

Nathan looked up at her. She was finally looking him in the eye. "Uh, no, I mean, I'm just finishing up. Let me put this away…"

"Okay. I'll be waiting down at the wing when you're ready." Nathan nodded and started scooping dried fish into one of the food containers as Daley headed off down to the beach. It was getting dark enough for Taylor to have turned on a lantern so she and Lex could see what they were doing. The sun was still hanging low in the west. He put the container in one of the coolers and added more wood to the fire before following Daley's footsteps.

Taylor noticed Nathan trotting off in the direction Daley had gone. She decided to give them a few minutes before she 'checked' on them.

Nathan approached the wing. Daley was sitting there watching the sunset. His breath caught in his chest. She looked incredible, the way the last rays were illuminating her face, the wind blowing her hair around so it appeared flames were dancing around her head. He slowly approached and cleared his throat. "Hey," he said quietly.

"Hey." He moved to her side and perched on the wing next to her.

"So, what's up, Daley? Why are you mad at me?"

Daley sighed. "I'm not _mad_ at you, Nathan. Well…yes, I _am_." She turned to face him. "It's just…two days ago, when Eric and Jackson announced they were leaving, you…you…" She exhaled loudly. "You didn't…"

"Stick up for you?" he finished for her.

"Yeah. You didn't defend our voting system or my leadership or…anything…I mean, I thought…"

"That I liked you?" She nodded then looked dejectedly down at the sand. "I do, Daley. A lot." She looked up at him. He smiled at her and nodded. "Daley, when Eric and Abby made their announcement and then Jackson…I don't know. It was all just happening so fast and…I was just so confused and…and…everything just seemed so out of control. I couldn't think straight."

"So like you said this morning, you _do_ think it was a good idea for them to go."

"Yes, but I also said part of me thought it was a mistake."

"What about the voting? Why didn't you defend that?"

"Remember after we took off on the raft? You said our system was seriously flawed. And it is…" Daley looked hurt. "I mean, come on, Daley, we're all fifteen or sixteen here, except Lex. There are no adults. _We_ are the adults. And we can't force people to do what they don't want to. Or stay when they want to go." He searched her face. "You're a rational person, Daley. You know I'm right." She looked back out at the sunset then closed her eyes and nodded.

Nathan put his hand on her arm. "I'm sorry I didn't stick up for you. I just didn't know what to say or how I felt. Hell, I'm still not sure." Daley looked at him. "I really am sorry, Day. I hope you can forgive me."

She gave him a half smile. "There's nothing to forgive, Nathan. You're right. I just felt so…weak. Everything we worked so hard for was just…crumbling and it was all spinning out of control. And no one would say anything. I felt so…alone." She sighed again. "I just wanted us to stay together and be safe."

"I know," he said, putting an arm around her. Daley leaned her head on his shoulder. They both sat in silence watching the ocean finally swallow the sun. Daley suddenly sat up.

"What's with you and Taylor?"

"Wha…what do you mean?"

"You two. Holding hands before. Ring a bell?"

Nathan looked confused at first. "Oh, that. I was just trying to make her feel better."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I swear! I kind of hurt her feelings earlier and I was just trying to make her feel good. She really worked hard today and I wanted her to know it was appreciated. I helped her stand up and then she didn't let go of my hand. It was kinda weird." Nathan suddenly smiled. "Why? Are you _jealous_?"

"Me? No! Of course not!" she sputtered.

Nathan's smile grew bigger. "Yes you are. You're jealous!"

"Okay, so what if I am?"

Nathan hopped off the wing and stood in front of her. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Daley, you have nothing to be jealous of. I've been there, done that. And it wasn't all it was cracked up to be."

"Yeah, but _she_ dumped you," she said with a grin.

"Yeah, she dumped me and I'm glad she did," he said, smiling.

"Why is that?"

"Because I wouldn't have given you a second glance…"

"This is supposed to make me feel better _how_ exactly?"

"Let me finish. I wouldn't have given you a second glance and realized what an amazingly wonderful person you are." Daley hoped he couldn't see her blushing in the growing darkness. "You have nothing to worry about, Daley Marin. I swear. The only girl on this island for me, is you." Nathan leaned in until their lips met and gave Daley a soft kiss then pulled back. Her eyes were shining. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a longer, deeper kiss. His hands snaked around her waist and pulled her even closer. Daley's knees tightened around his hips. She let all of her pent-up emotions out in the kiss.

Taylor was watching from the tree line. She couldn't hear what was said because of the surf but she saw the lip lock and how quickly it became heated. She turned and made her way back to camp. _Well, this is an interesting twist. Why would he kiss her when he could have me? _Her evil grin suddenly returned. _Oh, I'm gonna have fun with this!_

Four hands were starting to grope when Daley suddenly put hers on Nathan's chest and pushed him off. He looked bewildered. _Crap! I guess grabbing her butt was moving too fast. Wait, she grabbed mine first!_

"What do you mean, I'm the only girl _on_ this island for you. Is there a girl _not _on this island for you?"

Nathan looked stunned. "What? No! There's no one el…" He caught the smile in her eyes. "Oh, ha ha, Daley. _Very_ funny."

She grinned and gave him a quick peck. "I think we need to get back to camp before…"

Nathan looked sheepish. "Yeah, I guess."

"But maybe, we could…uh…resume this…_conversation_…tomorrow evening?"

Nathan looked hopeful. "Really?" She nodded.

"Maybe in a more secluded place so we don't have to worry about traumatizing Lex."

Nathan grinned then suddenly frowned. "Wait a minute. You said us being a couple here would be a big mistake. And too scary. What about that?"

"Yeah. But that was before there were only four of us left. There were too many people before and it would have just caused more drama. But I think with just you, me, Lex and Taylor, it'd be okay. I mean, we need to rely on each other more than ever and I think we need all the comfort we can give and get right now."

"You're serious?"

"Yeah. I do think we should keep it on the down low, though. Like I said, no reason to traumatize Lex."

"What about Taylor? You think she'll be cool with it?"

"She should be. After all, she dumped you."

"But…"

"But maybe we should keep it between us, just in case."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Come on, let's get back." Daley hopped off the wing then pulled Nathan in for one more ardent kiss before walking off toward the plane.

Nathan watched her go with an astonished look on his face. _I'm never gonna get to sleep now! _he thought as he slowly followed her.

Taylor was already in bed when Daley entered the plane. She feigned sleep as Daley changed and crawled into her own sleeping bag and turned off the light. A mischievous grin spread across Taylor's face. _The fun begins tomorrow, _she thought, stifling a laugh. She fell asleep still grinning.

_I can't believe I kissed Nathan! _Daley's mind screamed. _But I'm so glad I did. _Daley closed her eyes and fell asleep remembering the feel of Nathan's lips on hers.

Nathan banked the fire then kicked off his shoes and crawled into his sleeping bag. _That was incredible! I can't believe what just happened! _Nathan fell asleep with a satisfied smile on his face.

_Wow, I really got a lot accomplished today. Tomorrow we should finish both projects then I can start on my next one, _Lex thought as he floated off to sleep with a little smile on his face.

**- -**

**A/N****: Please review!**

**Sorry for the long delay but real life and all that comes with it _has_ to come first, unfortunately.**

**Thanks for your patience. ****(Your reward is my longest chapter, ever!) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Book Two**

**Club 29 Down: Then There Were Four**

**Disclaimer****: Don't own any of the characters or the show (or it would still be filming) but the plot is my own.**

**I used some background information from the F29DWN books and expanded on it. If you've read the books, you may have noticed how INCONSISTENT they are with many details. (For example, in the prequel, Daley's dad is in advertising. In book four, he's a famous filmmaker. Lex's mom and dad are divorced. In 'HT', he referred to his father's death. There's one _random_ reference to Lex wearing glasses. They are different ages in different books, their grade changes, etc…) So, I picked out the details _I_ want to use in my stories to expand on. Just a 'heads-up' as it may not be consistent with what you've read, the TV show or 'Hotel Tango'. **

**Author's Note****:**

**Written pre-'Hotel Tango' so no spoilers. Any similarities are coincidental.**

**Characters aren't OOC based on my EPOTPTTTKOTDL_O_HFDBOTIE theory.**

**Just _my_ little version of one _possibility_.**

**POETIC LICENSE used profusely, it is FICTION after all.**

**Remember to SUSPEND DISBELIEF to fully enjoy.**

**- - **

**Taylor was already in bed when Daley entered the plane. She feigned sleep as Daley changed and crawled into her own sleeping bag and turned off the light. A mischievous grin spread across Taylor's face. _The fun begins tomorrow, _she thought, stifling a laugh. She fell asleep still grinning.**

_**I can't believe I kissed Nathan! **_**Daley's mind screamed. ****_But I'm so glad I did. _Daley closed her eyes and fell asleep remembering the feel of Nathan's lips on hers.**

**Nathan banked the fire then kicked off his shoes and crawled into his sleeping bag. _That was incredible! I can't believe what just happened! _Nathan fell asleep with a satisfied smile on his face.**

_**Wow, I really got a lot accomplished today. Tomorrow we should finish both projects then I can start on my next one, **_**Lex thought as he floated off to sleep with a little smile on his face.**

**- - **

**Chapter Three**

Nathan woke the next morning feeling exhilarated. He smiled to himself then got up, jammed his feet into his shoes and walked over to the fire pit. He whistled softly to himself as he stirred up the embers and added kindling. When he had a good flame he added some logs then picked up two empty water containers and headed for the well still whistling softly.

Lex woke up and yawned loudly as he stretched. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and went to check on the chicken.

Taylor woke up but laid there pretending to still be asleep. _No way I'm getting up this early. That just means more work._

Daley woke up and got dressed. She took extra time fixing her hair then grabbed her toothbrush and went out the back door of the plane, facing away from the fire pit. She couldn't stop smiling as she brushed her teeth carefully. When she was done, she went back through the plane and exited toward the fire pit. Her smile faded when she saw both boys were already gone. It brightened again as she noticed the missing water containers and figured out where Nathan was. She grabbed a towel and started up the path to the well.

Taylor opened her eyes cautiously then stretched lazily when she was sure Daley was gone. _What to do today? _she thought. _Let's see…first, I have to get Daley to do my laundry then I can have some fun with Nathan…_Taylor suddenly sat up, eyes wide. A huge smile spread across her face. _Oh this is so perfect. I can kill two worms with one rock…_Her face scrunched up. _Wait, that doesn't sound right…it's something like that…Oh, who cares?! _Taylor pulled out her comb and some clips and carefully fixed her hair. She used her little mirror to apply some makeup then she put on her blue bikini. The morning air was still chilly but she'd have to bear it for her plan to work. _I'm on a hot and sunny Caribbean beach _she told herself. Taylor added Abby's necklace and a gold anklet then put her flip flops on and sashayed out to the fire pit. _Darn! _She was disappointed to see no one else was around. She put more wood on the fire and set out dried fish for everyone. She then got out the battery charger and the batteries and hooked it up. _There. Phase one complete. _She stood close to the fire to keep warm until she heard someone coming then she perched just so on one of the plane seats.

Lex came into view carrying an egg. Taylor dropped her pose. "Oh, it's you, Peewee."

Lex looked at her briefly and mumbled a "'Morning." It was his turn to eat the chicken's egg and he knew just how he wanted to cook it. _Soft boiled, just like mom makes. _He put some water in the cooking pot and added the egg then put it over the fire and sat down to watch it cook, periodically checking his watch.

Taylor went into the plane and wrapped up in her sleeping bag, watching out the window for any sign of Nathan or Daley. She had a thought and went to talk to Lex for a few minutes before going back into the plane to warm up.

As Daley approached the well she heard something. She stopped behind a tree and listened. _I didn't know Nathan could sing. _She listened for a few more minutes. _He's got a pretty good voice. _She smiled then made some noise and came out of the trees. "Hey, Nathan."

He stopped singing and turned around quickly. "Hey." They both suddenly felt awkward and looked at the ground. Nathan turned back to the well and continued filling the container. He had a worried look on his face. _Oh god, is she going to say she changed her mind and last night was a mistake and we have to cool it till we get home again?_ Nathan took a deep breath. _Be cool, dude._

Daley's stomach was full of butterflies. _Why am I so nervous? Does he think we made a mistake? _She walked around to the other side of the well and squatted so she was face to face with him. "Um…so…"

"So…"

Daley grinned and looked at him shyly. "How are you feeling about yesterday?"

"Pretty good, we got a lot done. I think we'll be fine with…"

"No, I mean…us…last night?" she interrupted.

"Oh." He searched her face for a clue, he didn't want to make a fool of himself. _Oh who cares, Nathan? You've already done that several times since we crashed. _He grinned back. "_Very_ good." Daley's smile widened. "You?"

"Me, too."

"No regrets?"

"Nope."

"Okay then. Good. Um…"

"Well, I guess I'll let you finish getting water and I'll go look for some fruit."

"Daley?"

"Yeah?"

"We have plenty of fruit for breakfast. How about you help me carry the water back and we can look for fruit later."

"Okay." She noticed how he'd said 'we'." They stood and he handed her one of the containers. She smiled and leaned forward and kissed the lips she'd been dreaming about all night. When she pulled back Nathan was looking at her with shining eyes. "Good morning," she said softly.

"It is now," he smiled back. He shyly grabbed her hand and they walked slowly back to camp enjoying the beautiful tropical morning. When they were about to emerge from the trees they smiled at each other and dropped hands then proceeded to the fire pit.

Taylor saw a flash of red hair and realized Nathan and Daley were back. She dropped her sleeping bag and ran out to the fire pit and struck a sexy pose. Lex had gone to water his garden. Nathan and Daley were talking quietly as they approached the fire.They stopped and stared as they spotted her.

"Good morning!" she said brightly. Daley recovered her composure first and set her water jug down.

"Uh…morning, Taylor."

Nathan realized his mouth was open. He quickly shut it and placed his jug next to Daley's and took a seat, pulling his sweatshirt off. He was suddenly very warm. "M…morning," he stuttered. He was trying hard not to stare at Taylor's body but he found his eyes drawn to her breasts as her taut nipples were clearly visible through the thin material.

"Here have some fish," she said as she passed them both a plate. She bent over and pulled some fruit out of the cooler and handed them each some. Nathan was glad he was sitting and had his sweatshirt draped over his lap. Taylor's rear had only been a few feet from him when she bent over. He tried to concentrate on the plate in his hand.

"Uh…Taylor?" Daley asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"Isn't it a little chilly to be wearing only a bikini?"

"Well, duh! Of course it is but all my clothes are dirty. I don't have anything else to wear."

"Um…why don't you wash some then?"

"Oh, I was going to but Lex asked me to help him with something this morning so I won't have time until later. And then I need to collect some seaweed and oysters for dinner," she said, smiling sweetly. _They don't need to know I tricked Lex into asking for help._

"Oh, well…uh…I'm gonna do some laundry so leave your stuff on my sleeping bag and I'll do it with mine."

"Really? Thanks, Daley! That would be like, awesome!"

"No problem. Why don't you borrow some of my clothes?"

"No, I'm fine. It's starting to warm up."

"You look a little cold," she said pointedly. "Why don't you put on Nathan's sweatshirt?" Daley said as she reached for it.

"No! I mean, I splashed water all over it, it would just make her cold," he said quickly, clutching it to his lap. Daley gave him a funny look, Taylor, a knowing one.

"Oh…kay. Well, you can borrow one of my shirts."

"No, that's okay. I'm still working on my tan." She flashed Daley a big smile. "But, thank you. Really." _Like I'd wear some of her hideous clothes. That's almost as bad as wearing Melissa's!_

Lex finished watering his garden. He figured Taylor was up to something when she had stepped out of the plane this morning wearing only a bikini. It was too chilly for that. When she came and dropped broad hints to help him work he _knew _she was up to something. _Probably something no good. We don't need any more drama. Maybe if I keep her busy with me she won't pull anything. _The video camera incident flashed through his mind. _I still owe her for that. _So Lex had played along with her and asked for her help. "Taylor, come on, I'm ready!" he yelled toward the camp.

"Well," she said looking around, "I'm off to help Lex. Later!" she called over her shoulder as she walked toward Lex's voice.

Daley watched Taylor strut away and noticed how hard Nathan _wasn't_ looking at her. She smiled a little. "So, you wanna look for fruit while I do laundry?" she asked.

"Uh…no. I was going to boil and filter this water and since you're doing laundry, I'll need to get a lot more."

"Oh, right."

"But…maybe when you finish the laundry we can look together?" he asked.

"Sounds like a plan." Daley walked into the plane to get the laundry. "I don't believe this!" she yelled.

"What's wrong?" Nathan called. Daley emerged carrying a large pile of clothes. "Whoa! I was gonna ask if I could throw a few of my things in but forget it!"

"Oh, this is only the _majority_ of Taylor's stuff. There's more."

"Yikes!"

"I should have known," she said, shaking her head.

"Looks like I'd better get on that water," Nathan said.

Daley collected the rest of the clothes and the bucket they did laundry in. She started washing while Nathan boiled and filtered water. When he finished the water they'd gotten that morning he went for more. By the time he came back the clothesline was full and Daley was rigging up another one.

"Need help with that?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks. I think I'm gonna have to put up a few more just for Taylor's stuff." They shared a laugh as he grabbed the other end of the line and tied it to a nearby tree. Daley hung up more of Taylor's clothes while Nathan tied up a third clothesline.

They made small talk all morning as they worked on the laundry and lugging water. Lex came in around noon to get water and fruit for he and Taylor. When Daley finally finished all the laundry, she and Nathan set out together to collect fruit and firewood.

Later that afternoon Taylor was still weaving palm fronds for Lex's wood box. Not that she minded. It was boring but easy work. She had even managed to get some tanning time in. All in all, it had been a good day. She'd gotten to sit around, work on her tan, Lex had served her lunch and she'd had plenty of time to scheme. The bonus was that Daley had done all of her laundry. She'd sent Lex away to gather more fronds when he got too annoying with his talk of the box and other ideas he had. She liked Lex well enough but sometimes the way he droned on and on about one of his projects just plain bored her. _And sometimes I have no clue what he's talking about. Besides, I want to think. _

Taylor had decided to not do anything too major for several days. She'd noticed Daley's looks and didn't want to get in a fight with her, so she'd lay low and wait for opportunities to get quick little sneak attacks in then back off. _Like gorilla warfare, _she thought. She squinted her eyes and scrunched her nose. _I wonder why they call it 'gorilla' warfare. Are gorillas that fast? Are they really sneaky? And do they really war on each other? _She shuddered. Gorillas had always given her the creeps when she'd seen them at the zoo. She hated 'King Kong' and had refused to watch it with Nathan when they were dating. She shrugged. _Whatever. _Taylor put little smudges of dirt on her face and arms and smeared a few carefully placed streaks across her ribs to make it look like she'd been working hard before she paraded back into camp.

Nathan was stacking firewood when she arrived. Daley was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, Nathan. I haven't seen you all day. Everything good?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Perfect. I finished weaving all the panels for the wood box and Lex finished putting it together. He just needs us to lift it onto the base and it's ready to go."

"That's great."

"Yeah. Ohhhh!" Taylor made a show of stretching, first reaching for the sky then bending side to side and finally bending over and touching her toes.

Nathan tried not to watch but he couldn't take his eyes off her perfectly tanned body _with such long legs and those dirt streaks on her stomach are just so…Nathan! Snap out of it! _

Taylor gave him a sweet smile and said, "I'm off to collect oysters for dinner. Toodles!"

"Yeah, toodles," he replied dreamily. Taylor could tell he was watching her so she exaggerated her hip swinging. She was wearing a very self-satisfied smile on her face. "Hey, Taylor?"

"Yes?" she asked turning around.

"Need some help? I'm not really doing anything…" _Nathan, what are you thinking?_

"Sure! Thanks, I'd love the company," she replied. They walked to the oyster beds and started collecting them. Taylor made a show of stretching again. "I'm really sore from sitting in the same position for so long," she said.

"You should soak in one of the tide pools," Nathan said. "The water gets really warm from the sun. It's not as good as a hot tub but I think the minerals in the salt water make up for the temperature."

"Oh, a hot tub is exactly what I need right now!" Taylor looked around and stepped into one of the smaller pools and sat down. She found a comfortable position and lay back. "Ahhh! Nathan, this is perfect!" She closed her eyes and sighed. Nathan watched her for a few seconds and felt something stir in his nether regions. _She even looks beautiful with dirt smudges on her face. _Nathan shook his head and continued collecting oysters. _Dude, stop it!_

Taylor's eyes were slits, she'd seen Nathan looking at her. "Nathan, you _have_ to join me, this feels so good," she said lazily. "The water's perfect!"

"Shouldn't we get these oysters back for dinner?"

"We've got _plenty_ of time. Come on! You've been working harder than anyone for the past two days, you _deserve_ to relax."

Nathan thought about this for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. I _do_ deserve it." He took off his shirt and kicked off his flip flops. "I guess fifteen minutes can't hurt," he said, easing himself into the water. He found a comfortable seat opposite Taylor and lay back, closing his eyes. "You're right Taylor, this feels great!" Nathan took a few slow, deep breaths and felt his entire body start to relax. His mind went blank as the warm sun and water eased his tired muscles.

Taylor opened her eyes and watched Nathan. _Hmm, I wonder how far I should go? I need to take this slow…I don't want to spook him… _Taylor slowly reached out a foot and started caressing his foot very gently. Nathan didn't react so Taylor continued, careful to move slow and use a feather light touch. After a time, Nathan responded by caressing her foot with his. Taylor slowly worked her foot up to his knees. Nathan did the same. Taylor smiled then backed off her rubbing. She closed her eyes, carefully spread her legs apart and waited. His foot continued moving up her inner thigh, lightly caressing. Taylor knew Nathan wasn't really aware of what he was doing or who he was doing it with and she didn't care. She was just happy to finally be getting the attention she deserved. Taylor took a quick peek at her watch. _Damn! It's getting late. I guess we should go. _She closed her eyes and let out a soft moan of pleasure.

That did it. Nathan's eyes flew open and he suddenly realized _what_ he'd been doing and _whom_ he'd been doing it with. He pulled his foot back and stood. "Taylor…uh…I'm…sor…um…we should…uh…be getting back."

Taylor's eyes slowly fluttered open then she smiled at him. "Hmm?" she said sleepily. "Uh…yeah, I guess it is getting late."

Nathan climbed out of the water and pulled on his shirt. Taylor stood and held her hand out to Nathan. "Help me out?"

Nathan grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the pool. She slowly stretched her arms above her head, arching her back just so. Nathan watched as little rivulets of water slowly snaked their way down from her collarbone to disappear in the valley between her breasts. Time seemed to move in slow motion as the water emerged from beneath her bikini top to leisurely continue its meandering journey down her tanned abdomen, around her navel and down…down…down until it finally met the top of her tiny blue bottoms. He felt himself getting hard. He gasped and quickly turned away, grabbing the backpack of oysters and walking to another pool.

Taylor smiled to herself as she retrieved her shoes. That stretch was one she'd perfected in her bedroom mirror and used to great effect at beaches around the world and the country club pool. She walked down to the tide line and picked up some seaweed. By the time she came back Nathan had finished getting plenty of oysters and regained control over himself. He wouldn't look her in the eye.

"Ready?" she asked cheerily.

"Uh, yeah." They walked back to camp, Nathan silently, Taylor chattering about some hot tub party she'd gone to just before they left for Palau. Nathan was paying no attention. _What the hell was that? This is _Taylor_. Taylor! Just because she has a great body that I never got to touch when we were dating doesn't mean I have to…_

They arrived at the fire pit. Lex was sitting in the shelter fiddling with something. Daley was boiling water. She had taken all of the laundry down. "Hey guys," she greeted them, her eyes taking in the seaweed, oysters and Nathan's semi-guilty look. "That took a long time."

"Oh, we were hot tubbing!" Taylor said enthusiastically.

"Hot tubbing?" Daley asked skeptically, eyeing Nathan. He had set down the backpack and was busying himself shucking the oysters, avoiding Daley's piercing blue eyes.

"Yeah, some of the smaller tide pools get really warm from the sun so we soaked in one and just relaxed for a little bit. I was stiff from sitting in the same position weaving all day and Nathan's been working so hard, he deserved it."

Daley was staring at Nathan. "Yeah, he does." She took the seaweed from Taylor and started rinsing it. "So, are we having sushi or soup?"

"Sushi!" Taylor said.

"Soup!" Lex called.

Daley looked at Nathan. "Nathan?"

"Huh? Uh…doesn't matter to me," he said.

"Me either," Daley said.

"We have plenty of oysters, why not both?" Lex asked.

"I'm on it," Nathan said. _Anything to avoid looking at Daley._ _Or Taylor. _He put some water in the cooking pot and set it over the flames then added oysters and shredded seaweed.

"Hey, there's still some dried fish, how about we add that?" Daley asked.

"Sure." Nathan jumped up to get the container then dumped it into the pot.

"Here, add these," Lex said, handing him some fragrant green leaves.

"What is that?" Daley asked.

"Not sure, some kind of herb. I've smelled it before when my mom was cooking but I don't know its name. I figured the seasoning would help."

"That's great, Lex!" Daley noticed Taylor just standing there 'posing'. "Taylor, your clean clothes are folded on your sleeping bag. You should probably change out of that wet suit."

"You're so right, Daley. And thank you so much, you're the greatest!" Taylor disappeared with a smile into the plane. She emerged quite some time later looking clean and refreshed, her hair in a perfect French braid. She hung her suit on the line.

"Dinner is served," Daley said. She and Lex helped themselves to the soup while Nathan and Taylor made several sushi rolls. Daley tasted her soup then set it down and hugged her little brother. "Lex, you're a genius! The herbs make such a difference in the taste. I just wish I knew its name."

"I bet Melissa would know," he said softly. Everyone stopped eating and stared at the fire, silent. "She told me she loves to cook."

"She does," Nathan said quietly. "She's really good at it, too." Everyone looked at him. "Not like mac and cheese out of a box but really fancy, gourmet stuff."

"I wonder what they're doing right now," Lex said.

Daley looked at him and could see tears in his eyes. He quickly blinked them away and resumed eating his soup. "They're probably setting up camp and cooking their own dinner," Daley said.

"Yeah, Eric's probably goofing off and Jackson and Melissa are doing all the work," Nathan added with a little smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"What about Abby?" Taylor asked.

"She's probably stalking some innocent little animal to kill so she can eat it," Lex said with a hard edge to his voice. Everyone looked at him, surprised by his tone. "What? It's probably true. Have you already forgotten how much she wanted to kill my chicken?"

"Hey Lex, I was thinking," Nathan said, trying to steer the conversation to a happier place. "What if instead of eating the eggs we let them hatch and have more chickens? I seem to remember it doesn't take that long for a chick to become an adult. We could have a whole flock and have both eggs _and_ meat."

Lex looked at Nathan like he was as dumb as Taylor. "Because these eggs aren't fertilized. There aren't chicks inside so they'd never hatch. They'd just go bad."

"Oh."

"Well, how do you know they aren't fertilized?" Taylor asked.

Lex looked at her like she was from another planet. "Do you see a rooster around?"

"Well, no, but…"

"That's how I know they aren't fertilized. No male. No fertilization. Elementary biology."

"Oh," she said, looking confused. "Oh!" she said, nodding her head as she finally caught up to the rest of them. Lex just rolled his eyes and shook his head sadly.

"Okay, new subject!" Daley said. "Lex, how's the wood box coming?"

"It's done, I was going to ask you and Nathan to help lift it onto the base after dinner. The drying rack is done, too. I dug the holes for the legs so if someone will just hold it in place, I can fill them in and it will be ready to go."

Taylor looked thoughtful. "Well, I can do that," she said. _How hard can it be to hold something? More brownie points. _

After dinner Lex, Nathan and Daley put the wood box in place an filled it while Taylor unhooked the battery charger and replaced all the batteries. She turned on the mp3 player. They hadn't had music in several days and she was tired of the silence. While Nathan and Daley made some adjustments to the roof of the wood box Taylor helped Lex set up the drying rack on the dune. Nathan could hear their excited voices discussing something as he came back to the fire pit.

Coming up behind him, Daley asked in a low voice. "So, are you ready to resume our…_conversation_ from last night?" There was a small smile playing on her lips.

Nathan smiled back. "Yeah, sure."

"Okay, I'll meet you by the tide pools in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes," Nathan said with a nod. Daley grabbed a water bottle and went into the plane. She brushed her teeth and washed her face and neck. She used a little of her precious deodorant and changed her shirt. _I don't want to go too far, _she thought, _but it won't hurt to smell good. _She smiled to herself. _Yeah, right. _She went out the back door of the plane and walked quickly down the beach.

Nathan had brushed his teeth and tried to make himself as clean as possible. He started up the path toward the well then veered off to the beach. As he approached the tide pools he saw Daley sitting there on a towel. He plopped down beside her. "Hey."

"Hi. So, how was your day?"

"Pretty good, yours?" He pushed the incident with Taylor out of his mind.

"Pretty good. So, uh…nice weather we're having, eh?"

He played along. "Yeah, the weather's been really great. A little humid though.

"Yeah, it's the humidity you have to watch out for in these tropical climes." They both laughed. "So…hot tubbing with Taylor?" Nathan looked out at the sea and was glad it was almost dark so she couldn't see his face turn red.

"W…well, my body was pretty sore an…and the water felt so good…I"

"Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

Daley smiled and shook her head. "I'm not accusing you of anything. Relax."

"Oh."

"I was just thinking that maybe you and I…could try it sometime."

Nathan's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah, it sounds really wonderful and I work hard too."

"That would be awesome," he said, smiling.

Daley lay back on the towel and put one hand under her head. She sighed contentedly as she looked at the sky. Nathan watched her for a few seconds then joined her. They watched the sky turn to black and the stars come out. Daley raised an arm and pointed at a bright star in the Orion constellation. "If that were the first star," she said softly, "What would you wish for?"

"To get off this island."

"Come on, that's the obvious answer. Really, if you could make a wish what would it be?"

Nathan thought about it. He didn't want to say. He covered by saying, "I need to think about it. What would you wish for?"

Daley sighed deeply. "Hmm…I'd wish for us to have plenty of food and safe water and everything we need. And to be safe. And for no one to get sick."

"That's more than one wish," Nathan said. "And they seem pretty obvious too. Come on, anything in the world. What would you wish?"

Daley drew a ragged breath. Nathan looked over at her and saw tears leaking from the corner of her eye. "That my mom didn't die," she said in a whisper. Nathan gathered her into his arms as she cried softly. "Gwen is great but I miss my real mom so much sometimes," she said faintly. Nathan didn't know what to say. He just held her and rubbed her back gently, waiting for the tears to subside. Like most guys, he wasn't great with crying girls.

Daley finally stopped crying. She lay there in Nathan's arms while the cooling breeze off the ocean played with her hair. She sighed and said, "Can I tell you something Nathan?"

"Sure."

"This is gonna sound so horrible but…there's a part of me that's glad my mom died." Nathan's eyebrows rose in surprise but he waited to hear her explanation. "I mean, part of it is because she was in such pain at the end, I'm glad her suffering finally ended. I just wanted her to be at peace."

"Of course," he said gently.

"And…and if she hadn't died, dad would have never met Gwen and gotten married and I wouldn't have Lex for a brother…I never knew how much I wanted a sibling until he came along. We haven't been a family that long but I'd miss him so much if he wasn't around…So, do you think I'm the most terrible person on earth now?"

Nathan gently brushed away the remnants of her tears and lifted her chin so she was looking into his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with feeling that way," he said. "It's perfectly normal. And Lex would miss you, too." He tilted her chin up a little more until he could reach her lips with his and gave her a soft, comforting kiss. They stayed there for another half hour, each taking comfort in the warmth and closeness of the other. Nathan finally pulled them both up into a sitting position and said, "We'd better get back."

"Yeah…Sorry to be such a downer."

"It's okay. We all need to let stuff out sometimes. I'm guessing you've held that in for a long time."

Daley nodded. "I've never told anyone. Not even the shrink my dad made me see after mom died."

"I'm glad you trusted me." He gave her a quick kiss then stood and helped her to her feet. "Let's go."

Daley grabbed his hand as they slowly walked back to camp. Lex was already snoring in his sleeping bag and Taylor was obviously in bed as well. Daley pressed her body tightly against Nathan's then kissed him for a good minute. She pulled back and whispered, "Thanks for tonight," before hurrying into the plane.

Taylor had watched their kiss but looked like she was sleeping when Daley entered the plane. _Hmmm…looks like I have my work cut out for me. _She grinned. _Good, I love a challenge. _

_- - _

**Thanks for reading and please review! **

**- - **

**A/N****: For the record, I know the phrase is 'kill two birds with one stone" and it's 'guerrilla warfare'. I have a friend who gets her sayings and clichés all mixed up together and I use her as an inspiration for Taylor's comments.**

**Also, I loved 'King Kong'.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Book Two**

**Club 29 Down: Then There Were Four**

**Author's Note****: Yay, I _finally_ found my notebooks with this story in it and had time to put this chapter on the computer!!!**

**For those of you that read my latest oneshot, you know why this was delayed further. Thank you for your patience, understanding, kind words and prayers. I truly appreciated them all.**

**POETIC LICENSE used profusely, it is FICTION after all.**

**Remember to SUSPEND DISBELIEF to fully enjoy.**

**- - **

**Daley grabbed his hand as they slowly walked back to camp. Lex was already snoring in his sleeping bag and Taylor was obviously in bed as well. Daley pressed her body tightly against Nathan's then kissed him for a good minute. She pulled back and whispered, "Thanks for tonight," before hurrying into the plane.**

**Taylor had watched their kiss but looked like she was sleeping when Daley entered the plane. _Hmmm…looks like I have my work cut out for me. _She grinned. _Good, I love a challenge._**

**- - **

**Chapter Four**

Nathan woke up the next morning with a smile on his face. He got up and started the fire then went off to wash his face, brush his teeth and get ready for the day. He had a spring in his step as he thought about Daley. By the time he arrived back at the fire pit everyone else was up and eating breakfast. He greeted them all brightly, giving Daley an extra wide smile that she returned.

When they were finished, Taylor got out the battery charger and hooked it up before Daley had a chance to say anything. _Brownie points._

Lex went and removed the tarp from his drying rack. He fussed with the pieces of wood on it a bit before coming back to the fire.

"What's everyone doing today?" Daley asked.

"I'm going to get more water," Nathan said. "I figure a few trips should get us enough for the day."

"Then why don't I help you?" Daley asked. "That way we can get twice as much in one trip and save time."

"Sounds good." He smiled at her again.

"Then we can collect firewood."

"Yeah."

"I've been thinking..." Lex began.

"Yes?"

"Remember how Jackson and Melissa made the help sign on the beach?"

"You mean the one that got washed away in the big storm?"

"Yeah. We need another one."

"But won't it just wash away again?" Daley asked.

"Not if we make it a little different and put it in a different location," he replied.

"Do you have some place in mind?"

"Yeah, there's a big empty space well above the tide line over by the tide pools where we fish."

Daley smiled. She knew before she'd asked that Lex had already thought this out.

"What did you mean about making it differently?" Nathan asked. "Don't we just put stuff out to form the letters? How much different can you get?"

"Well, I was thinking...if we make a bamboo framework and drive some stakes into the ground and secure the framework to them..."

"It won't blow away in a storm!" Nathan finished.

"That's brilliant, Lex!" Daley said, beaming at him.

Lex smiled. "I was also thinking we should have a signal fire."

"You're so right, I can't believe we didn't think of that before!" Nathan said. "How can we expect to get the attention of a plane or ship without a signal? Duh!" He smacked himself on the forehead.

Daley was watching her little brother. "What's your idea, Lex?"

"Well, we need to build it sort of near the fire so we can light it fast. But far enough from the jungle to be safe. And it needs to be a little protected so it doesn't get blown away, and big enough to be seen..."

"So, where were you thinking?" Daley asked. They were all looking toward the beach.

"Where the drying rack is," he said. "It's on a dune, far enough from the jungle to be safe, and we can always light the drying rack, too."

"Smart," Nathan said, nodding his approval.

"Okay, so, why don't Nathan and I get water while Taylor and Lex collect fruit and firewood then Lex and Nathan, you can cut bamboo for the framework. Taylor and I will filter and boil the water then we can all work on the sign."

Nathan and Lex were nodding their heads. Taylor looked horrified. Her brain was working as fast as it could. "Um...I'm gonna have to fish today," was all she could come up with.

Lex suddenly looked like a light bulb went on. "Well, we'll be building the sign near the tide pools where you fish...you can still fish, but be tying bamboo together while you're sitting there waiting for a bite."

"Good idea!" Nathan said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, _great_," Taylor added somewhat sarcastically. _Damn! Oh well, at least I can still work on my tan. _

Nathan and Daley exchanged knowing looks. Lex rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Okay, let's get going," Daley said. "Nathan and I will go get water. Taylor, you and Lex go look for fruit."

"And firewood," Lex added.

"Wait, I thought I was gonna fish," Taylor whined.

"You are. _After_ we all do the basic chores first."

"Oh," she said quietly.

"Let's go!" Nathan said. He and Daley gathered up the water containers and headed for the well.

Lex picked up an empty backpack for the fruit and called, "Come on, Taylor." She sighed and trudged off into the jungle behind him.

Nathan and Daley made small talk while they filled the water jugs. When they were finished Nathan stood and helped Daley up. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "I need something to motivate me," he said with a smirk.

Daley placed her hands on his shoulders, "What kind of motivation are you looking for?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"This kind," he said as he leaned forward and captured her lips with his. Daley pressed herself into Nathan as her tongue forced entry into his mouth. Nathan's eyes opened wide for a moment then slowly closed as he relaxed into her. He was becoming accustomed to her aggressiveness when they were alone. In fact, it brought out his own and Daley seemed to enjoy that.

Their kissing quickly became more intense and they both started tugging at each others' clothes. Nathan made a move to lay down but Daley remembered where they were. "Nathan, the leeches," she said breathlessly.

_Damn! I forgot about them, _he thought. Daley pulled herself out of his arms. They both stood there panting for a few minutes looking at each other hungrily.

Nathan regained his composure first. "Uh...we should get this water back to camp."

Daley quietly said, "Yeah, I guess."

"But hey, tonight...will you take a walk with me?"

Daley smiled. "Yes."

He kissed her one more time then picked up his jugs and started back to camp. Daley followed suit.

Lex collected firewood while Taylor picked fruit. She put a distasteful scowl on her face, but she was thinking about her next move with Nathan.

_Daley was giving me the evil eye quite a bit this morning so I have to be careful...unless she's not around. _Taylor's face broke out in a big grin. _Yeah, that's what I'll do. Lay low when she's around and crank it up when she's not. Nathan won't say anything out of guilt._

Lex had been watching Taylor's face . When she went from a scowl to a big smile he knew she was up to something.

"What are you thinking about, Taylor?" he asked. She kept smiling and stuffing fruit into the pack.

"Taylor? Taylor!"

"What?!" she yelled.

"I asked you a question."

"Oh. Sorry, Peewee. I was thinking."

"About what?"

"Uh...nothing."

"Really?" he asked skeptically.

"I was just thinking about...uh...dinner. And if I'll catch enough fish. Yeah. Come on, let's go back, we have enough." Lex rolled his eyes and followed her.

When they arrived back at camp Daley was filtering and boiling water. "Where's Nathan?" Lex asked.

"He went to start cutting bamboo for the sign. He said for you to meet him at the bamboo grove."

"I will as soon as I water my garden," he called over his shoulder.

Taylor started slinking off. "Where are you going?" Daley asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Um, I'm going fishing."

"Taylor, it's too early to catch anything. We have plenty of fruit now and that's good enough for lunch. We won't need fish until dinner time and we can always just do oysters. There's a lot of work to do and we all need to pitch in." Taylor's eyes narrowed and she looked ready to explode but she quickly composed her features before she turned to Daley.

"Of course," she replied.

"So, why don't we go find Nathan, get the bamboo he's already cut and take it to the construction site, then we can cut vines."

"Sure," Taylor replied unenthusiastically.

"Oh, and you'd better put on more clothes and better shoes, you don't want to get all cut up and ruin your tan." Daley gave her a big, fake smile then turned back to finish the water.

"Fine," Taylor replied softly as she walked to the plane to change. _Dammit! Looks like I'll have to actually do some work today. I'm going to have to think of a better excuse for tomorrow. Of course, she's been watching me awful close, and almost caught me, I'd better just lie low and work on this stupid sign. _Taylor pulled on a pair of pants and a long sleeved shirt over her swimsuit and put on her hiking boots. _Daley is right, I don't want to cut up my arms or legs and ruin this awesome tan I have. _She walked out to the fire to see Daley already packing water bottles into an empty backpack. She added several pieces of fruit to another and handed it to Taylor.

"I figured it'd be best to take lunch with us, that way we can all keep working and won't have to come back to camp until dinner time. Don't forget to bring your fishing gear so you can fish later."

"Yeah, wouldn't want to forget anything," Taylor mumbled. She turned to get the fishing stuff and made a face._ Damn! She thought of everything! _She took a deep breath and let it out slowly._ I can handle this. Anyway, it'll be pretty mindless so I'll have plenty of time to scheme._ An evil smile spread across her face. She turned back to Daley and smiled brightly. "Okay, I'm ready, lets go!" She shouldered the backpack and started off toward the bamboo stand.

Daley took a final look around camp to make sure everything was secure and covered in case it rained. She'd already banked the fire leaving a few live embers underneath so they could restart it easily for dinner. She took off after Taylor._ Why was she so happy all of a sudden? I've seen that look before. She must be up to something._

Taylor and Daley arrived at the bamboo stand and gave Nathan and Lex a much needed water break. There was already quite a stack of cut bamboo for them to haul toward the tide pools. Daley listened patiently as Lex explained in more detail about how he wanted to make the sign and the different materials they would need. She was absentmindedly scanning the area when she had a sudden thought.

"Lex?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there any reason we have to use new palm fronds? Couldn't we use stuff that's already fallen on the ground?"

Lex considered this for a moment, looking around. He smacked himself in the forehead. "Of course. We can just collect a bunch of dead fall to lash to the frame to make the letters wider and more visible. It's dead and dry so it'll burn easier, too. Then we can add a few green fronds here and there to make smoke." He shook his head sadly. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"It's okay. You were focused on the big picture and didn't really look at all the details. You'd have gotten there, sooner or later."

"Yeah, I guess," he said quietly. He looked really disappointed in himself.

"Does that mean this is enough to start with then?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, it should be plenty."

"Great. Then how about Lex and Taylor take the bamboo to the building site then look for stuff that's already fallen. Daley, you can come and help me start cutting vines."

"Sounds like a plan!" she said.

Taylor bent over to start picking up bamboo and rolled her eyes. _Nathan's so obvious. 'Daley, you can come help me.' Yeah, right. After a make out session I'm sure! _She straightened up with several pieces of bamboo and said, "Come on Peewee. Let's get this over with." She started off toward the tide pools. Lex shrugged, picked up an armload and followed the blonde.

Nathan said, "There's a ton of vines over this way," and started walking deeper into the jungle.

"Okay," Daley said, looking a little puzzled.

He walked for a few minutes and stopped in a dense growth of trees with loads of vines hanging down and waited for Daley to catch up. When she did he pulled the backpack from her shoulder and dropped it onto the ground then pulled her to him and started kissing her. Daley was startled, but relaxed into Nathan and let her hands wrap around his waist. They moved down to his butt and she started squeezing. One hand moved slowly up his back and tangled in his hair. _God, I want him right now! s_he thought.

Nathan slid his hand under her shirt and caressed her breast. He was slowly getting hard and they both felt it. Daley started rubbing herself against him and wrapped one of her legs around him to get closer. Nathan backed her up against a tree so they could grind harder against each other. He reached up to grab her hair and suddenly screamed and wrenched himself away from her. He was shaking his arm frantically and jumping around.

"Nathan! What is it?!" Daley was shocked and confused._ What did I do wrong?_ Nathan was still dancing around, wiping his hand off and 'ewwing'.

"A snake! I went to grab your hair and instead it was a big snake!" he yelled.

"Eww!" she screamed, jumping away from the tree and batting her hair. "Is it gone? Is it in my hair?"

Nathan looked and said, "No, you're fine." They both stopped dancing around then looked at each other and started laughing. They were still laughing when Lex and Taylor came running up.

"What's wrong? We heard a scream!" Lex said, breathlessly. He looked thoroughly confused by their laughing fit.

Taylor was leaning over, hands on knees, trying to catch her breath. She looked at them closely and noted their disheveled appearance and somewhat twisted clothing. Her eyes immediately went to Nathan's crotch and noticed he was partially erect. _What was with the scream and what the heck is so funny now? _She shook her head. _What did Daley see that scared her? _A nasty smile flashed across her face. _I'm so bad! _

Nathan stopped laughing long enough to gasp out, 'There...was...a...a...a...snake...in...Daley's hair!"

"Eeww!!!" Taylor screamed as she jumped away from the trees and covered her head with her arms. "Where is it?"

"It...slithered off...that...direction," Nathan said, still trying to control his laughter. Taylor looked in the direction he pointed, terrified. Lex looked in the same direction, then looked at his sister and Nathan, who were still laughing.

"What the heck is so funny?"

Nathan and Daley stopped laughing suddenly and looked at each other. "Um..." Nathan started.

"It was...uh, Nathan, who screamed like a girl," Daley said. She gave Nathan a look and they both started laughing again.

"Oh...kay...." Lex said. "Taylor and I are going to get the rest of the bamboo then we're going to lay out the shape of the sign. Bring the vines as soon as you can."

They nodded and started laughing again.

_Teenagers! _Lex thought disgustedly, shaking his head. _I can _so_ wait to be that weird. _He walked off toward the bamboo stand. Taylor gave Nathan and Daley one last suspicious look then followed Lex.

When they were gone Nathan stopped laughing and looked at Daley, "Quick thinking."

Daley smiled at him. "Hope you didn't mind. Taylor was looking at us like she knew what we'd been doing."

Nathan shrugged and smiled. "No problem. I guess...we were kinda..."

"Stupid for doing that so close to Lex and Taylor?" she finished.

"Yes. And I guess we shouldn't get so..."

"Carried away in broad daylight," she said.

"Yeah."

"Yeah. I really _don't _want to scar Lex for life," Daley said.

"So, what do you say we get the vines and save that for later tonight?" Daley grinned at him and nodded. Nathan picked up the machete he'd set down earlier and started pulling vines to cut. He looked at each one carefully before he touched it. _I really do hate snakes, _he thought. Daley carefully coiled each vine as Nathan cut it and they soon had more than they could carry. Nathan wanted to prove what a man he was, especially after his girly scream, so he loaded up and by the time they reached Lex and Taylor, he was dripping with sweat.

Lex and Taylor had used single pieces of bamboo to lay out the design of the sign and had quite a pile of dried palm fronds and other debris to flesh out the letters. They were all hot and sweaty so Daley suggested they cool off in the ocean, have some lunch, then continue. Taylor looked at her, surprised. She couldn't believe Daley actually wanted to take a break.

Lex had already kicked off his shoes, pulled off his shirt and was running toward the water. Nathan and Daley took a little more time to strip down to their bathing suits. Taylor took the longest of all. She stood up and carefully flipped her hair over her head and gathered it into a high ponytail as she kicked off her boots and socks. When she noticed Nathan watching she unbuttoned her shirt and let it drop to reveal her tiny red bikini top. She then unzipped her pants and slowly pushed them down her legs. She noticed Nathan practically drooling and Daley fuming. Taylor flashed them both a big smile then ran off toward the waves and Lex. She was confident that Nathan was watching her.

Nathan realized what he was doing and quickly ducked his head. Daley looked from Taylor to Nathan and caught his quick head duck. _I cannot believe that girl! Right in front of me, too! And what the hell was Nathan looking at?!? _

Nathan swiftly stood and ran down to the water. Daley looked down at herself. _Yeah, pale skin and board shorts, Daley! So attractive next to Taylor's tanned skin and skimpy bikini! _Daley shook her head and thought, _Can't blame him for looking, she _is_ sexy. _Daley smiled as she thought about her earlier make out session with Nathan. _He's with me, no reason to get jealous. He's 'been there, done that, got the t-shirt'. _Daley ran down to the water to start splashing and paddling with the others.

After a bit, Lex emerged from the surf and announced he was going back to camp to check on his chicken and grab the shovel so they could start digging the holes for the posts. Daley followed him out and gave him some empty water bottles to take back and exchange for full ones. She then toweled off and slathered on sunscreen. _Don't need a burn, _she thought. She watched Nathan swimming lazily quite a distance from Taylor and decided she could take a quick trip back to the plane as well. She picked up her pack and hurried off after Lex.

Taylor had been floating on her back, acting like she hadn't a care in the world, but she was aware of everything that was happening. As soon as Daley was far enough away she carefully shifted position. Nathan was practicing various swimming strokes back and forth. When he was nearing her she quickly went underwater. She surfaced just behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. He started to protest when she put all her weight on him and he went under. She swam a few strokes away and waited.

He came up sputtering. "Taylor! What the hell?!"

She laughed and splashed water at him teasingly. He grinned evilly then swam toward her. Taylor let out a little scream and pretended to swim away. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her under with little effort. Taylor grabbed his arm and quickly surfaced. He struggled to get away, splashing water behind him. Taylor grabbed him from behind and held on, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. They were both laughing now and playfully wrestling. The surf was pushing them toward shallow water. They were up to their shoulders. Taylor scanned the beach._ Empty._ She reached behind her back with one arm for a second then grabbed onto Nathan even tighter. He rolled over in the water and tried to pull her off his back. She tickled him a little and loosened her leg grip. She guessed if they stood up, they'd be about waist deep. She quickly scanned the beach again. _Still empty. _She smiled.

Nathan felt her hold loosen and used this to his advantage. He suddenly rolled in her grasp so he was facing her. He pushed back out of her grip and they both stood up. Nathan's eyes almost popped out of his head. Taylor was standing there, smiling at him with her hands on her hips. She saw the look on his face and asked, "Nathan, what's wrong?"

Nathan was now blushing deeply, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. He pointed to her and said, "Um...uh, Taylor...you're...a...you... lost...your...top."

Her expression slowly changed as she looked down at herself. She gasped and looked back at Nathan, then in what seemed like slow motion, she reached up and covered her breasts. "My top! Where's my top?" She turned around and searched frantically in the surf. "Nathan! Help me!"

He was standing there, staring at her naked back. Nathan shook himself and said, "Uh...yeah." He started searching the water. He thought he spotted it, floating just behind her. He swam over and grabbed it. It was only seaweed. He kept looking but couldn't help sneaking sideways glances at her. _Stop it, Nathan! This is Taylor!_

"Nathan, we have to find it!" Taylor whined. Nathan continued his search. Finally, he saw it. The tide had carried it to the beach. It was definitely rolling in the surf on the shore. He walked out and picked it up. He looked back toward the ocean. Taylor was no longer covering herself but using both hands to paw through the water. He felt himself getting excited as he walked toward her.

"Taylor! I found it!" She looked up and started walking toward him, seemingly forgetting to cover herself. Nathan couldn't move. He just stood there, holding out her top and staring.

Inwardly, Taylor was smiling. She knew how good she looked.

Nathan was speechless. _My god, I'd forgotten how hot she is. And, I never got to see her topless when we were together._

She smiled at him as she approached and pulled it from his hands. "Thank you so much, Nathan! This is my favorite suit!" She squealed and hugged him tightly, pressing her breasts against his bare chest. She grinned as she turned her back to him, suddenly feigning modesty. She had also noticed his erection. She held the top up and tied it around her neck. "Nathan, can you tie the bottom for me?" she asked, turning around halfway to bat her lashes at him.

"Huh? Oh, um...sure." He slowly reached out and grasped the flapping strings then fumbled around tying them together. He couldn't help noticing how silky her skin was beneath his fingers. "How's that?" he asked.

"Could you tie it a _little_ tighter?" she asked, twisting around to smile sweetly at him.

"Um, sure." He tried again.

"Perfect." Taylor sighed and turned toward him. "I'm starved! Ready for lunch?"

"Uh...yeah," Nathan said. _Is two syllables __all you can manage__? _he chastised himself. He followed her away from the water.

Taylor had been keeping an eye on the beach the whole time. Still no sign of Daley or Lex. She pulled her towel out of her pack and dried her hair then carefully dried her body and last, her legs. Nathan was once again mesmerized watching her. He stumbled up and pulled out his own towel then flopped down, pulling his backpack onto his lap.

Taylor smiled and spread her towel out then sat next to him. She opened her pack and passed him some fruit. "Thanks," he said, unable to make eye contact.

Taylor stared at him a minute then said, "What's wrong, Nathan?"

He glanced up at her for a second then dropped his eyes again. He felt himself blushing furiously.

Realization dawned on Taylor's face. "Oh, uh...right. Well, um...it's not like you haven't seen boobs before, right?" she laughed a little. Her eyes started darting around like she was embarrassed. "Um, no reason that anyone needs to know...uh, what happened," she said. She ducked her head and looked at him sheepishly.

Nathan looked at her and nodded. "Um, yeah. No biggie."

"Okay, so, we'll just both pretend it never happened, right?"

"Right." They started eating their fruit and Daley and Lex soon came back and joined them.

When they were all finished eating, Lex showed Nathan where he'd marked for the post holes to be dug. Nathan started digging while Daley, Lex and Taylor started tying the bamboo frame together. Daley noticed that Nathan had been acting awkward around Taylor and wouldn't make eye contact with her. _Wonder what's up with that? Something must've happened. I'll have to ask Nathan tonight._

They tied bamboo together all afternoon. When the sun started getting lower in the west and the light shifted, Daley told Taylor it was time to fish.

After she played helpless and got Lex to dig her some bait, Taylor gladly grabbed the fishing gear and headed for the tide pools. She didn't bait the hooks, just threw the line in. She sat humming to herself and thought about her little performance earlier. _I so deserve an Academy Award. _She smiled broadly. It had gone exactly as she had planned it. _The only thing that could have made it better was if Daley had come back a little earlier and perhaps caught us. _Taylor stopped humming and frowned. _Of course, Peewee was with her and I don't want to hurt him. _She shrugged. _Oh well! He didn't see anything so I have nothing to be ashamed of. I wonder if Nathan will tell Daley? _

She pondered this a few minutes as she played with her empty lines. _Have to make it look good! _She smiled as she pulled in the empty lines and baited the hooks. She cast her line and thought, _Nah, he won't tell her. She'd g__et all jealous and make both our lives hell. Surely, Nathan realizes that. _

Taylor played with the lines a little more before she felt the tug of a full line. She pulled it in and there were two big fish on the hooks. She pulled them off,_ I hate this part_, put more bait on and re-cast. After a few minutes she felt an even stronger pull. _Damn! I forgot how much work this part is! s_he thought as she pulled. Finally, three good-sized fish emerged. She put them on a sharpened piece of bamboo she'd brought with her, gathered her gear and headed back toward the sign.

"Dinner!" she called. "Who's going to clean them?"

"I will," Nathan said. He took the fish from her without making eye contact then picked up his pack and walked back to camp.

Daley looked around. "Well, I guess that's enough for today. I think we should just finish this section we're working on and call it a day."

Taylor surveyed the work area. "Wow! You guys really got a lot done!" She was looking at a rather neat H-E and the first part of the L.

"Oh, it's not nearly finished," Lex said. "This is just the basic framework. Once that's done we can start filling in with all the palm fronds and stuff."

"Oh," Taylor replied, a little crestfallen. _Damn! I thought I wouldn't have to help much more on this. _"So, when do you think it'll be done?"

"I don't know. Depends," he said.

"On?"

"How much more stuff we find on the jungle floor as opposed to cutting it down. And the weather." They all looked up at the sky. The sun was getting low but as far as they could see it was clear skies. Daley and Lex finished tying their last framework to a post then stood up.

"How about we head back and Lex can tell us what's left for tomorrow?" Daley suggested. They gathered up their gear and walked back to camp.

When they arrived Nathan already had the fire roaring and he had just finished cleaning the fish. Daley took them from him and put them on their makeshift grill while Nathan went to take a shower.

Soon they were all sitting around the fire enjoying dinner. Lex came up with a list of chores for them to do tomorrow and the order they should be done. Taylor sat there trying to hide the look of disgust that was fighting to occupy her features. She stood and walked over to the clean water cooler slowly, rolling her eyes and making faces the whole way. She grabbed a fresh bottle and had a neutral expression on her face by the time she turned back to the others.

"Well, I'm done. I'm going to take a shower," she announced.

"Okay, I'll take one after you then Lex, you will." Daley said.

"Aw, Day, do I have to?"

"Yes, you do. We're all...smelly after working so hard today. Do you really want your sleeping bag to smell like that?"

Lex lifted an armpit and gave it a good sniff. He wrinkled his nose at the pungent odor.

"Eww!" Taylor yelled as she took off toward the plane to get her towel and soap.

Lex rolled his eyes. "I guess not. But we're just going to get sweaty and smelly again tomorrow," he whined.

"And you'll have another shower tomorrow. Just because we're stuck here doesn't mean we have to turn into filthy savages." Lex rolled his eyes again.

"I'm going to get some more water so we can start boiling it for tomorrow," Nathan announced. He stood and picked up two empty containers.

"I'll get some, too," Daley said. She scurried down the path after him.

_Real subtle, Day, _Lex thought. "Can't believe we're thousands of miles from civilization and she's still making me take a shower everyday," he muttered under his breath as he went to make one last check on the chicken for the night.

Daley and Nathan were talking quietly about the day's work as they filled the water containers.

"So, um...are you still up for continuing our earlier conversation?" Nathan asked.

Daley smiled at him. "Yeah, definitely. Same place?"

Nathan grinned back. "Yeah, let's wait until Lex is in bed, though. I really don't want another close call."

"I hear you," Daley replied.

They picked up their jugs and walked back to camp. Taylor was just coming out of the plane, looking refreshed. "Ahhhh, I feel _so_ much better!" she said, smiling brightly at both of them.

Nathan picked up a container of clean water and lugged it to the shower area. He was just finishing lashing it in place when Daley arrived with her towel and soap.

"Hey."

"Hey."

She suddenly got a mischievous look on her face then cocked one eyebrow as she asked, "Would you care to join me?" She laughed as Nathan's eyes almost popped out of his head.

"Wha?! Daley! I mean...uh....um...well, y...huh?"

She smiled at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. "Wouldn't you like to take a shower with me?" She nuzzled his neck and softly bit the tender flesh there.

Nathan moaned softly and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "Well, uh, yeah, of course I would," he replied softly. He turned his head and found her lips and they stood there for a few minutes, hands and lips wandering over each other. Nathan was getting very hard and Daley was rubbing his erection when an image of a topless Taylor popped into his head. Nathan blinked a few times and resumed kissing Daley with gusto. She didn't even notice that he had paused.

Both their shirts were on the ground and he was just moving to untie her bikini top while she was fumbling at the waistband of his shorts when another flash of Taylor, standing there all tanned and topless, hands on hips, flashed through his mind again. _I don't remember seeing any tan lines, _was all he could think.

He groaned and pushed Daley away.

"Wha...what's the matter, Nathan? Did I do something wrong?" He looked up and saw the confusion and hurt in her eyes.

"No, no, not at all! It's just...well," he gestured to the jungle around them. "We're here, out in the open...anyone could walk up and see us and...remember, we said we don't want to scar Lex for life, right?" He gave her a weak smile as he fought to get in control of his body. "We...we need to be...careful, you know?" he said.

Daley was trying to get her own breathing under control. She loved exploring Nathan's muscular body with her hands and she wanted so much more of him. She wanted to see all the muscles she'd felt and kiss them and she really wanted to see and do so much more. She closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "You're right. Lex would probably never talk to me again if he caught us. And Taylor would never let us hear the end of it." She opened her eyes and met his gaze.

"I guess I'll go back now," he said, picking up his shirt. He pulled it over his head then leaned in for one more kiss before picking up the empty container and heading back to camp.

Daley sighed as she watched him walk away._ God, he has the best ass I've ever seen. I could just bite it!_ She blinked a minute then slapped herself._ Daley! _She shook her head then picked up her soap and stepped under the container and pulled the rope. The water that cascaded down over her head and body was cool on her skin and Daley was glad. _If ever I needed a cold shower,_ she thought, grinning to herself.

Nathan quickly walked back to camp. _Dude, get a grip! _He thought back to how incredible Daley felt beneath his hands then Bam! another flash of a topless Taylor beckoning to him flooded his mind. _What the hell is up with that? _He felt himself getting hard as the vision persisted. He stomped through camp pausing only long enough to pick up the cup and funnel then proceeded to the well to fill up the container one more time. He needed a little time alone to sort out what was going on with him.

When he returned almost thirty minutes later, Daley was sitting by the fire pulling her fingers through her hair and Taylor and Lex were nowhere to been seen.

"Hey," she smiled at him.

"Hi," he returned the smile. "Where are the other two?"

"Lex is taking his shower and Taylor's putting the battery charger away." Nathan nodded as he set the water down. He started fussing with the filter. Daley looked around then lowered her voice and leaned toward him. "I think we should wait until everyone's in bed before we sneak off tonight," she said.

"Why?" Nathan asked, looking at her with a puzzled expression.

Daley looked at him like he was as dumb as Taylor. "Uh...well, you know. After earlier, I definitely _don't_ want to get caught so I just think we should wait until later to make sure Lex and Taylor are asleep."

"Oh," Nathan said. Then "_Oh,_" when he finally caught on. It was his turn to look around furtively. "Are you sure you want to..."

Daley smiled, "Yes. Why? You haven't changed your mind have you?"

Nathan gave her a reassuring smile. "No, definitely not. Let's wait about an hour after everyone's in bed then meet at our usual place."

Daley nodded. Lex came walking up at that moment looking annoyed. "There, I took a shower. Happy?"

Daley grabbed the unsuspecting boy as he walked by and pulled him onto her lap. He let out a yelp as she wrapped her arms around him and sniffed him. "Mmmm! You smell fresh as a daisy!" she cried.

"Daley, stop it!" Lex whined, as he struggled to get free. Daley gave him one more squeeze and a noisy kiss on the cheek before turning him loose. "I'm going to bed, good night!" he announced indignantly.

"Good idea," Taylor said as she emerged from the plane in her pajamas. "I'm wiped out from today. 'Night, everyone."

"Goodnight," they chorused.

Taylor turned just before entering the plane. "Are you coming, Daley?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm just going to turn off the lights and put a few things away then I'll be there." Taylor nodded and entered the plane.

"Oh crap!" Lex said.

"Lex! What's wrong?"

"I forgot to cover the wood on the drying rack. It'll be soaked with dew in the morning."

"Don't worry, I'll go cover it right now."

"Make sure you tie it down tight or it'll blow away."

"I know, Lex. Don't worry. Go to sleep."

Daley went to the drying rack and tied the tarp over it while Nathan banked the fire and turned off all but one camp light. Daley returned and picked up the lantern.

"See you in an hour," she said softly. Nathan smiled and nodded before climbing into his sleeping bag. Daley entered the plane and climbed into her own bag then turned off the light.

An hour later three exhausted teens and one very tired preteen were all softly snoring in their warm sleeping bags.

**- - - - - **

**A/N:**** Thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed! A review would be lovely and very much appreciated.**


End file.
